Capture The Queen

She's Young, She's A Con, And She Is Evading Law Enforcement

(CBS)  In 1999, the same year Brooke vanished, a 21-year-old Esther Reed changed her name for the first time, going by Liz, an abbreviation of her middle name.

During this time, Edna's purse disappeared. "I lost my purse or it was stolen. I'm not sure which. But my checks and my ID are out there. So I filed a police report and then the checks started coming in," she recalls.

Months later, a policeman called Edna to tell her someone had been arrested at a local mall for theft and forgery. "He said, 'Well, the person we have arrested in Esther Elizabeth Reed.' And I just was in shock," she remembers. "It was like somebody slugged me in the stomach."

Esther pled guilty and was sentenced to probation. Edna confronted her wayward little sister on the courthouse steps. "I just told her, 'You can't live like this, you know. You have ripped me off. And you know who are you?'" Edna remembers.

The next day, Esther e-mailed a letter of apology to her siblings. "I sit here in my room feeling probably as low as I have ever been in my life…," Edna reads from the letter. "I want to be a normal girl who makes good choices. I want to apologize to all of you as a whole. …I do want my family back, but I understand I have put that right in jeopardy. Love, Liz or Esther."

Edna would never see her sister again. And from that moment on Esther Reed ceased to exist. Now a convicted criminal, Esther cut herself off from her family and began plotting her next move.

Natalie Fisher was one of Esther's first victims. The two met when Esther briefly rented a room from Natalie's brother.

Esther allegedly scammed Natalie's brother out of thousands of dollars. She also got a hold of Natalie's Social Security number and phone card. "I got a phone call from a collection agency representing AT&T. And they informed me that I owed them like $400 or $500 in bills," Natalie recalls.

But the con game was just beginning: Esther got a driver's license in Natalie's name and proceeded to live as Natalie. Esther left Seattle in 2000, and spent much of the next two years traveling cross-country in a car and sleeping in cheap hotels. But despite her life of vagrancy and petty crime, part of Esther was still searching for a path to success and for a place where she truly belonged.

Brandy Olson met "Natalie" in 2001. But the woman Brandy met didn't look much like the overweight check forger from Montana: she’d slimmed down and had some cosmetic surgery.

Brandy says "Natalie" always had plenty of money, and a strange explanation of where it came from. "She had a very well paying job as a professional chess player she said," Olson tells Van Sant. "She told us that the prizes if you won a tournament were pretty substantial. Upwards of $10,000."

Det. Campbell believes Esther's chess career was a lie, a brilliant cover for some kind of criminal enterprise. He says nobody he had interviewed had ever seen Esther play in a chess tournament.

There were other mysteries: Brandy once saw "Natalie" use a credit card with the name "Elizabeth Reed." When asked about it, Brandy says "Natalie" told her, "Oh, that's the name I play chess under."

Still, Brandy and "Natalie" became close friends, bonding over their mutual interest in competitive debate, Esther's old high school passion.

"Natalie" started showing up at Brandy's tournaments. And Brandy, a U.S. Army ROTC student, introduced Natalie to other debaters from elite military academies, like a midshipman from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, as well as a dashing Army recruit.

"He was a cadet at West Point that she dated for a while and got quite serious with," Olson remembers.

But while Esther, posing as "Natalie," was gallivanting about Annapolis and West Point, her sister Edna was agonizing over her disappearance. She feared Esther was dead.

The family filed a police report. As the months passed, their worry began to mix with anger. "It's the betrayal, and that she has left everybody hanging. That she doesn't even have the consideration to call and say, 'I truly am okay,'" Edna explains.

In fact, Esther was more than okay. By the fall of 2002, she had settled in California, taking classes - and debating - at California State University, Fullerton.

Travis...furthermore, the 2007 treaty between USA and Great Britain does include Isle of Man. Check page 13 of the following document...
http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/KFile/371332_CMND_7146.pdf

Travis...I wasn''t talking about the Isle of Man, I was talking about the government''s investigation.

[mona210-2009]

And just to weigh in on hearseluv''s and luvtrucrime''s debate over why Esther is getting more attention than Brooke, I agree that Esther story is unfortunately more interesting. It''s also ongoing, where as it''s pretty clear that Brooke is dead. Yes, it was extremely insensitive of Campbell to refer to her as "not good enough", but people would be making the same assumption about Esther if she hadn''t proven otherwise. Esther''s case would resemble Brooke''s - a missing person most likely dead and just as likely never to be found - if she hadn''t committed the crimes that people are finding so fascinating (before somebody reams me for my choice of words let me say that fascinating, just like compelling or intriguing, is not automatically positive - Esther Reed can be fascinating the same way OBL was intriguing to Time or Newsweek or which ever magazine it was). I''m sure that there are more missing persons cases out there than can be counted that are just as deserving of attention as Brooke''s, but not getting any period. At least Brooke is getting some national media now.

[mona210-2009]

When I first learned of Esther/Brooke''s story on CNN last winter I read a few articles online about it and I wish Van Sant had talked about/to more of Esther''s family. I remember getting the impression from the articles that her family was quite dysfunctional - Edna Strom was not her only 1/2 or step sibling - and that she had possibly been abused by family before her disappearance and by a boyfriend after. Not that this would excuse what she''s done, but it would provide a better motive than poor self-esteem.

[lauren0211]

Esther, are you reading this? Do the right thing. Stop running. It can be a lonely world out there.
There are some people who still care about you.
I wish you well, and hope you are ok and out of harms way. It is time to stop and think.

[travis_towle]

coldsteel71 - I do know what I am talking about - do a search on my name on Google... hummm that site IRAradio.com of mine was shut down by the FBI in 2001 %u2013 how would I know about an island with no extradition huh %u2013 probably because most of the IRA & Orange boys are there hiding along with other government avoiders in plain site with no fear of extradition right? So keep your comments about my comments and me not knowing facts to yourself or do your own research.

[hearseluv]

luvtrucrime, I can say a lot about Brooke.
1. She is missing
2. She is loved by her family and they are doing everything possible to find her
3. The TRPD didn''t care about Brooke in 1999 and Jon Campbell proved that with his laugh and statement Campbell says, "I don''t think Brooke was good enough to run away, to disappear entirely with a tenth grade education and drop off the face of the earth and not leave any trail." (Btw..he is no longer with the TRPD)
If you wasn''t so wrapped up in Esther you would know the answers to your questions.

[luvtrucrime]

ok, but what can you say about brooke? there seems to be so little information. why are the police not hammering away at the boyfriend that she fought with the last night she was seen? what is his history? are they looking for any other suspects? who saw them fighting and was that person(s) questioned?
and a question about esther reed. is she the next sante kimes?

[hearseluv]

What is wrong with you people???? Brooke Henson is MISSING!! Her family is no closer to knowing the truth today than they were 8 years ago. Who cares about Esther Reed???!!!! Her family knows she is alive. I''m sick of hearing about Esther. It''s time people stopped glorifying this con-artist. She is a CRIMINAL!

[rashid821]

This is a fascinating story! I bet it would be a box office hit when done on a big screen.

Travis...you have no idea what you are talking about. Until you have your facts straight, you should probably keep your comments to yourself.

[diallosma]

I just wanted to share a little of my story to show CBS just how someone could stay on the run for years. At 18 I started making money by illegal means. At 20 I got caught but after I bailed out I changed my name and "went on the run." Vermont you can get a license in one day but you can in North Carolina too. So I got a license in N.C. but got a new one same name in Kentucky. Made up SSN and lease will get you an ID in almost any state (I won''t share the details :)) Every time I moved I changed SSN and disconnected phone and left no forwarding address. As simple as that I was a fugitive for 3 yrs. Like the man said "it''s a lonely life." I did get caught but it was after I had quit the illegal stuff and had my son. It was inevitable just a matter of how and when the right time was. She will get caught eventually but most likely it will just be because she''s tired of looking over her shoulder.

[luvtrucrime]

hmmmmmm! now which one of you writing a comment is esther reed?

[ken_sch]

The thing that get''s me is that people would buy the story that she was making all this money playing in chess tournaments.

[kurtisvlaurl]

At the 2007 Oregon Country Fair (Veneta, Oregon) there was a woman whose faced looked a lot like Esther Elizabeth Reed''s face at the clothing optional sauna and showers. She was beautiful. I really thought it odd she was with an old man. It didn''t register with me then why a woman young and beautiful would be with such an old man?, but I guess it makes sense if she was conning money for a living. At least that didn''t stop her from giving me an elaborate massage.

I am highly disappointed with the story about Esther Reed/Brooke Henson. You did not cover the Brooke aspect in enough detail. You asked viewers to come forward with any information that could help to find Esther. Why was there no such request for information that could lead the police to Brooke? There was also no mention of the $12,000 reward money available for information that leads to finding Brooke. Esther''s family knows that she is ALIVE and a FUGITIVE. Brooke''s family is no closer to getting her disappearance solved. Jon Campbell''s comment about Brooke being a dropout and not being "good enough" to disappear should not have aired. After all, Esther is also a high school dropout. What makes Esther better than Brooke? The story seemed to treat Brooke as a footnote in Esther''s status as a criminal. It is Esther who should have been used as a footnote in the disappearance of Brooke. You could have done so much more to help find Brooke. Here is an idea, Make another show to showcase Brooke. I''m sure you have enough footage that was cut from Esther''s show. Why didn''t you use your high dollar detective to help find Brooke? Help Brooke''s family - FIND BROOKE!