Dec. 1, 2007
Capture The Queen
She's Young, She's A Con, And She Is Evading Law Enforcement
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Esther Reed (CBS)
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REED CASE:
Secret Service
Greenville, SC
864-233-1490
HENSON CASE:
justiceforbrooke@trpolice.com
864-834-9029
Secret Service
Greenville, SC
864-233-1490
HENSON CASE:
justiceforbrooke@trpolice.com
864-834-9029
"So she started studying for the SAT exam," Bita recalls. Bita believes that Esther did in fact take the exam.
The bizarre strategy of honest study and dishonest scheming paid off in 2004. Esther, as Brooke Henson, fulfilled her childhood dream by enrolling at the elite Harvard University -- its extension school, at least.
But after a single semester at Harvard, Esther outwitted another Ivy League university, conning her way into Columbia University's School of General Studies. Esther studied psychology and criminology, and briefly held a student job in the alumni office.
"Apparently she was in data processing. And she had access to every single alumni record," Ramban says.
"This was the classic wolf in the henhouse," Van Sant remarks.
"I think she’s the Tasmanian devil in the henhouse," Rambam says,
But aside from that job, or the imaginary chess winnings, Rambam discovered how Esther was really getting her cash: student loan fraud. That money, obtained with Brooke Henson's identity, bankrolled Esther's lifestyle in Manhattan.
"Is she paying back any of that money?" Van Sant asks.
"I don’t think she’s paid back a penny of it," Rambam says. "Esther Reed should go to jail. She needs to be locked up."
Fraudulent student loans, identity thefts, phony Social Security numbers. Could Esther be attempting something more sinister?
Rummaging through the leftovers of Esther's life as Brooke Henson, Columbia student, Steve Rambam struck gold. "This is Brooke Henson's certified birth certificate," he explains.
In 2005, Esther allegedly tricked South Carolina officials into mailing her that birth certificate. Rambam learned Esther then went to Vermont, where anyone can get a new driver's license in just one day.
"We know that she went to Vermont and got a Brooke Henson driver's license there, using the address of literally an empty field," Rambam explains.
Rambam thinks his target may also have been devising her next strategy, creating yet another identity. But when he visited the local courthouse, Rambam found no record of a name change. Esther stayed one move ahead.
But if Esther is hard to track in the real world, she's left a clearer trail in cyberspace. Rambam finds eBay purchases Esther made, a possible user identity on an online chess site, and a number of accounts with dating services.
Esther's page on the social networking site Facebook, created under the name Brooke Henson, lists a special friend from West Point, Kyle Brengel.
Who is he?
"Military academy candidate, military academy graduate," Rambam explains. "This is, again, somebody who, should he choose, probably can rise to the very top of the military."
Rambam obtained hundreds of pages of Internet messages between the two, written during Esther’s time at Columbia. The correspondence includes an intriguing exchange, where Esther tells her West Point friend that she'd love to be James Bond, and that being a spy would be a dream job.
Bita visited Esther in New York on July 4th, 2005. While the real Brooke Henson’s family was marking the sixth anniversary of her disappearance, the fake Brooke Henson was out on the town.
"We had a great time. And then we also took a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty," Bita remembers. "She didn’t like taking pictures, so I really had to talk her into even getting these pictures with me."
But Esther was much less shy in her exchanges with Brengel. In fact she’d begun making peculiar requests. "Things that they're working on in school, projects, which would be writing battle plans, things like that," Det. Campbell explains.
In one exchange, Esther wanted to know details about a training briefing for a military science class Brengel was taking. For Campbell, it all pointed to something far more serious than mere identity theft.
"So you're wondering if she's, potentially, a spy?" Van Sant asks.
"I mean that's a possibility, pretty good possibility," the detective replies.
Produced By Miguel Sancho
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/KFile/371332_CMND_7146.pdf
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.
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.
and a question about esther reed. is she the next sante kimes?
- by December 2, 2007 3:22 AM EST
- 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!
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