Cooper Maul

Over the years, a lot of people wanted to get her to tell her story.

Think Dateline, 2020, Good Morning America even.

She turned them all down.

But for some reason, she saw something in me.

Even though I'm a heavily tattooed millennial who dresses like Adam Sandler half the time, she trusted me.

And when I first sat across from her, it was hard to reconcile that the woman in front of me could be the same person who escaped prison, someone who'd been convicted of murder.

Standing at around 5'1", her voice carries a maternal softness.

She almost seemed shy.

It all took me by surprise.

When I hit record, it was tough to tell who was more on edge.

I think one of the big questions here at the beginning is you've never sat down and told your story on the record before.

Why now?

Tanya's 77 now, and time isn't exactly on her side.

If this story is ever going to be told by her, it's now or never.

She didn't make it easy for investigators either because everyone hunting her started in the wrong place.

She'd already figured out something that people chasing her hadn't.

I knew I could never contact my family.

Last episode, we told you about Margo's mother, the one who kicked her out.

But Margo was also a middle child.

She had two brothers and a great aunt she adored.