Mr. Ballin

And as she drove down the secluded country road outside the store, Debbie felt excited about her dinner plans and she hoped the Braves were winning so Billie would be in a really good mood when she got home.

Early the next morning, Debbie's daughter Michelle sat straight up in bed.

Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she could feel her heart pounding.

She was terrified, like she'd just had a nightmare.

But Michelle knew the fear she was feeling was not because of a dream.

Michelle believed that her connection to her mother was something way stronger than a typical bond between mom and daughter.

It was almost psychic, like they shared a sixth sense or something.

It was like they always knew when the other one was upset or in trouble.

And right now, Michelle knew something really bad had happened.

She reached over and grabbed her phone off the bedside table and called her mom.

When she didn't get an answer, she immediately hung up and called her brother Michael.

The second she heard Michael's voice, she said something was wrong with their mom and since he could get there faster, he needed to get over to her house right away.

Michael never doubted the intense connection between his sister and his mom, so he said he was on his way out the door.

Michelle hung up the phone, got dressed, and ran out to her car.

She sped down the road that cut through most of the small rural towns in Clay County, and then a few minutes later, she turned onto a dirt road that led to her parents' house.

As Michelle pulled up in front of the house, she saw her brother pacing back and forth in the yard, and she heard the sound of a police siren in the distance.

Michelle got out and ran straight to Michael.

He wrapped his arms around her tight and just said, Sister, they're gone.

Early that afternoon, Agent Todd Wheels of the Alabama Bureau of Investigation drove down a two-lane road lined by acres of trees on one side and a river on the other.

This landscape that would cause most people to feel like they were stranded in the middle of nowhere felt completely familiar to Agent Wheels.