Capture The Queen

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

(CBS)  We don’t know what Esther was really up to in Chicago, where she lived or how she made money. We do know that she kept in touch with Bita, and kept clinging to her college dreams.

"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.

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!