What Happened to the Harrisons? | 2. Tug of War

0:00Hey, it's Molly Sims from Lipstick on the Rim. Between the kids to travel and just trying to keep some kind of routine going, fog gets chaotic fast. I've gone through every wellness trend out there, and honestly, I've landed on carrying more about what's sustainable than what's trendy. That's why the multi-college and protein from ancient nutrition has become part of my everyday routine because it's not just collagen. It's real food collagen, sources paired with vitamin C and probiotics, so my body can actually put it to use. 10 types of collagen, 20 grams per two scoops, hydrolyze, so it's easier to absorb. You can start into your morning coffee, blend it into a smoothie, or even bake with it. However, it fits in your day, is how it's supposed to work. It's grass-fed, pasturease, and free of gluten, soy, and dairy, so I'm not trading one worry for another. It's the kind of thing I add once and just stick with, and it supports your joints, skin, hair, nails, and gut all in one scoop. If you've been cycling through trends, looking for something that actually feels sustainable, this might be the one that sticks for you too. Listen to every episode of what happened to the Harrison's

1:01Add Free right now when you subscribe to The Binge. You'll hear the entire series before anyone else, get exclusive bonus episodes, and unlock more than 60 other true crime podcasts. Just head to the Binge channel on Apple podcasts and tap subscribe, or visit getthebinge.com to listen wherever you are. Before we begin, just wanted to let you know. This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence. I'm looking at a grainy video of a police interview. Bridget Harrison is sitting alone at a small round table in a windowless room. She's at the police station near her home on pitch pine crescent,

2:03waiting for a constable to join her. It's May 6th, 2009. Three weeks after Bridget found her husband, Bill Harrison, dead of an apparent heart arrhythmia. And now, she's here to report a crime. She looks deeply distressed, but even now, she's carefully put together in a tailored blazer and stylish glasses. She lifts her head as a police officer enters and opens a spiral notebook. Bridget is a meticulous note taker. He's a middle-aged man with thinning gray hair, and today he's dressed in plain clothes, a shirt and tie. This room right now is being audio-video taped in your arm. My name is Bridget Harrison. Bridget Harrison? Right, and I am the mother of Caleb Harrison,

3:03and the grandmother of two grandchildren. Bridget names the children here, a girl and a boy, five and seven years old. Okay, and these are the children who have been abducted by their mother. Abducted by their mother, Bridget's son Caleb isn't here with her and we'll get to why later. Um, all right, so that's what we're here. It's what we're investigating right now. Bridget reviews the events that have led her here. She explains that Caleb has been living in her home on pitch pine crescent since his marriage ended in 2005, and his children had been living there too when Caleb had visitation. Until recently. On April the 16th of this year, which is just like three weeks ago, my husband died, completely unexpected, and so suddenly he's never been ill. Bridget says she wanted to be the one to tell her grandchildren that their papa had died,

4:05but the kids were scheduled to be with their mom that weekend. But because of the death of my husband went to school on Friday and found out they were in school. She thought their mom might have kept them home from school, so Bridget drove to Melissa's house to check. We went by the house, 2651, aqua team, all dark, all locked up, made me nervous. I called her dad. Melissa's father, Mike Merritt. Partly to tell him, well, first of all, to tell him about Bill's death, but also to ask him, please, to talk to Melissa and make sure that we were able to tell her children ourselves, so that we could be with them when we had to give them this information. The weekend passed, with Bridget in mourning for her husband and worried for her grandkids. She heard nothing from Melissa. On the day the kids were supposed to return to pitch pine crescent,

5:06Bridget went back to the school. When they're not in school on Tuesday, that's the flags really went up then. When I first learned about the abduction, I remember thinking, what would motivate a mother of little kids to just make a run for it, to walk away from her home, her life, to risk criminal charges and jail time, to risk losing her kids altogether? I wanted to understand what led to that moment, what had to happen, step by step, for that decision to feel like the only option. So one morning a few months ago, I dragged two boxes of family court records into my office. They were stuffed with custody orders, police reports, thousands of pages that were once kept at the Harrison residence. The records told the story of a marriage that fell apart

6:08and a relentless battle for control of the kids. A lot of custody battles get ugly. This one turned deadly. From Sony Music Entertainment, this is what happened to the Harrison's. I'm Amy Dempsey Raven, episode two, tug of war. I'm going to take you back now to the year 2000, a time of landlines, frosted tips, internet chat rooms, CD burners, and everyone watching shows at the same time. This is when a 27-year-old Caleb Harrison met his future wife, Melissa Merritt. At a store that sold collector barbies. Melissa was 20 with highlighted hair, around face, and bright green eyes. She worked in the shop and Caleb would come out from the

7:09warehouse to flirt with her. But when they met, she was actually engaged to someone else. The Melissa that I know was a very outgoing, popular, sociable person who seemed to love life, who really aspired to just settle down right away and live the family life. This is the guy Melissa was going to marry. Her high school sweetheart, Matthew Groves. Melissa was a jeans and sneakers girl who loved animals and she came from a middle class family. Her father Mike was a Toronto police officer. The very intimidating and posing guy, but a really good guy. And her mom worked at a flower mill near the family home. In high school, Melissa wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She was really good to her friends and she was not good to any of her enemies. If you crossed her, she didn't like you.

8:13What were her like gold and her hopes for life? Yeah. Make babies. Matthew had proposed on graduation night, but he wasn't ready to have kids. And Melissa, she didn't want to wait. She wanted kids straight out of high school. Everything looked like a match made in heaven until it wasn't. Melissa's attention turned toward her older coworker, Caleb, who was ready to give her what she wanted. Before long, they were spending all their time together. When Caleb started bringing her to family events on pitch pine crescent, everyone could tell he was into her. This is Pam Maine, the family friend from last episode. Given some of the ladies that Caleb had dated, things were looking good. Only a few months in, Melissa became pregnant. When Caleb told his parents, he acknowledged that, yes, things were moving fast.

9:17But explained why. Melissa told Caleb that she had lost one ovary because of the detection of pre-cancerous cells. And that her doctor had told her she had a very small window of opportunity in which to become pregnant. This is an excerpt from Bridget's notes read by her friend Val McGivrin. Bridget kept a journal and I have some of her writing about the family. According to Bridget, Melissa told Caleb it was likely she'd lose the other ovary one day. Caleb said to his mother, if you'd known that you couldn't have children by the time you were 25, wouldn't you have wanted to become pregnant early to have a child of your own with dad? So this was happening. Caleb was going to be a father. He had always struggled with being an adopted child who didn't resemble his parents. Now he was going to have a tiny person who looked just like him.

10:20Early on, his parents were happy about the relationship. Melissa seemed like the best thing that had ever happened to Caleb. Melissa and Caleb borrowed money from her parents to put a down payment on a townhouse and they started planning a wedding. Their son was born in the spring of 2001. He looked just like his dad. Fatherhood seemed to be the role Caleb was born for. He was the dad at the park who'd be entertaining all the kids while the other parents hung out. Nothing gave him more joy than his son and he spent all his not working time at home with his family. Melissa and Caleb got married the next year when their son was a toddler. It was a big white wedding on Lake Ontario. Caleb's grandmother gave them a honeymoon in Barbados. And soon after, Melissa announced she was pregnant again. This was a planned pregnancy as both Caleb and Melissa wanted a second child.

11:23Hanging over them was the issue of Melissa's ovary. The time for conception was limited, even though she was just 22. They moved into a bigger home in Georgetown, a more affordable area half an hour from their families in Mississauga, with a proper yard. Melissa's dad helped Caleb build a deck. With the new house, came a bigger mortgage. Finances were going to be tight, but... Because they had been such disciplined planners and savers up to now, the view was optimistic. Their daughter was born in August 2003. She looked like her dad too. Now Melissa and Caleb had the life they'd both wanted. Two beautiful kids, a comfortable house. But they were also juggling sleepless nights with a new baby, chasing a toddler, doing home improvements, and struggling to pay for it all. It was during this time that cracks in the relationship started to form.

12:28They were in serious debt, and Caleb blamed Melissa for the overspending. She opened a number of credit card accounts and accumulated debt they had not planned for and could not afford. Three years into the marriage, Bridget and Bill loaned them the money to pay off their debts, about $30,000. But there were conditions on this loan. Caleb and Melissa would have to start couples counseling, get advice from a financial planner, and destroy their credit cards. On top of the money issues, Caleb's drinking was becoming a problem. Melissa said alcohol turned Caleb into a different person. She said it made him aggressive. It all came to a head one night in June 2005. The children were in bed. Caleb didn't have to work in the morning, so he was having a couple of beers and watching the game.

13:30Melissa and Caleb gave police very different accounts of what happened next. Caleb said they were arguing about a marriage counseling session the next day. Melissa wanted to cancel, and he was angry. Melissa said they were arguing about finances, that he'd been drinking and became aggressive, so she went to bed. You won't hear from Melissa or Caleb directly in this episode, but my producer Cooper Mall, and my friend, John Hasmetalli, will read from their affidavits and letters. Here's what Melissa said happened. He followed me to the bedroom, and when I refused to continue the discussion, he put me in a headlock and hit me repeatedly in the head. Caleb said it was Melissa who attacked him, and he was just defending himself. I remember her yelling at me and hitting me, scratching and gouging. I grabbed her hair to pull her away. I hit her on the head to slow her down or get her back to her senses,

14:33but she got angry, so I left and went outside. Melissa called 911, then she called her parents. Caleb ran outside and hid in some bushes. He also called his parents. He wanted his mom and dad there to witness his arrest. Caleb was taken away in handcuffs, and the four parents, the merits and the Harrison's, were left there, trying to make sense of what had happened. Despite claiming that Melissa started the fight, Caleb would eventually be convicted of domestic assault. After his arrest, Melissa told police about another assault she said had taken place several months earlier. She said Caleb had attacked her, unprovoked, in the middle of the night. Caleb said this never happened. He said that one morning, Melissa showed him some bruises on her

15:39stomach and told him a story. She said that I had beaten a crap out of her and gone back to sleep. Caleb called that incident a complete fabrication. But why would Melissa make something like that up? False reports of domestic abuse are rare. More often, violence against women is under-reported. This wasn't the first time Caleb had accused Melissa of lying. Over the past year, the Harrison's had started to question the stories she'd told, and wonder whether the relationship itself had been built on lies. Does anyone else feel like August is the Sunday of summer? It's that little window before everything gets busy again, and I always end up doing a bit of a

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17:46crimes. This episode is brought to you by TicTac. Lace up and get your game on because the TicTac lineup just got a new teammate. Dr. Pepper TicTac, this new double threat puts two of your favorite flavors into one box of mince, and when two iconic flavors come together, the result can only be iconic. Score big. Try Dr. Pepper TicTac today. It started in the spring of 2004, a year before Melissa and Caleb split up, when they were still working on their marriage. One day in May, Melissa returned from the doctor and told Caleb about a devastating diagnosis. She had ovarian cancer. This was terrifying for their family. Bridget went into fix it mode. She arranged for Melissa and Caleb to visit a cancer support center. Bridget and myself and her went together.

18:51This is Ant Liz, the nurse again. We went for moral support. Bridget was encouraging her to get some professional help. Bridget and I left with feeling that we had helped her in some way. At the cancer center, Melissa was invited to join a group therapy program, but Melissa never ended up going to group therapy. Soon after the diagnosis, she told Caleb she was pregnant again, and that she planned to proceed with the pregnancy. This struck Caleb and his family as alarming. Then, about a month after the diagnosis, Caleb found a note on the kitchen counter from his wife. He picked it up, and when he started reading, he was floored. I have a copy of Melissa's note here. It's handwritten on a piece of scrap paper in big bubbly letters. It's just a few sentences.

19:51It says, Caleb, I need to let you know something. I don't have cancer. I have cancer like cells that could become cancer in the future. I'm sorry for lying to you. I love you more than anything. Love always and forever. Melissa. When we found out it was shocking, it was like, what do you mean somebody can claim to have cancer, and they don't actually? Melissa had lied, and she wasn't carrying a child. She told Caleb she'd had a molar pregnancy. He didn't know what to believe. There was talk of postpartum depression. Maybe Melissa needed mental health treatment. During the fallout from this lie, Caleb learned about another.

20:51Melissa was never missing an ovary. The story he said she told him about why she needed to have kids right away. It wasn't true. I admit to embellishing a health problem and causing concern for both my and Caleb's family. This is Melissa's response to these allegations from an affidavit she filed in family court. I was being treated for assist, and I embellished the situation which resulted in my and Caleb's fearing that I had cancer. But there was one thing Melissa denied. I have never claimed that I had novary removed. The Harrison said she had spoken about her missing ovary not only with her husband, but with both of his parents and other family members, multiple times. Caleb also learned that Melissa had been engaged when they met. To Matthew, the guy you heard from earlier. Caleb never knew that. Bridget wrote about the impact these revelations had on her son.

21:59He felt manipulated and used. Nevertheless, because of his firm commitment and belief that children need to be raised by both parents, he decided to stay and try and make it work. But Caleb stopped trying after he was arrested for domestic assault. His marriage was over. Caleb moved into his parents' house on pitch pine crescent, and Melissa refused to let him see his children. So the Harrison's got a lawyer. But before Caleb could take Melissa to court, he would make a fatal error, one that would have far-reaching consequences for him and everyone he loved. You never prepared for what you're going to see no matter how many of these fatal or serious injury collisions you go to. This is Staff Sergeant Paul Davies, a police officer in

23:02Halton, west of Toronto. But I do recall this was a catastrophic type of collision. He's talking about a car crash he was called to in July 2005. I was the young call collision reconstructionist for the regional halton. It happened at 3am on a four-lane country road. It was pitch dark when Sergeant Davies arrived, and in the street he saw two cars, both completely totaled. There was a lot of front end damage. It was probably one of the worst physical scenes of Vina. The two vehicles had slammed together and burst into flames. The taxi had been carrying four passengers, all teenaged boys. The Mercedes was a traveling at a high rate of speed and hit the tax cap head on, coming the other direction. You're going to have some pretty serious injuries if not deaths without that kind of collision. Six people were taken to hospital. The Mercedes was registered to a

24:10Mississauga woman named Bridget Harrison. For some reason that just that name kind of stood out with me. At the time I didn't know why. But Bridget wasn't in the car that night. The 32-year-old driver was her son, Caleb. It was tragic. It was very, very tragic. Vina. Shella was in pair driving. Caleb had been at a keg party that night, and his blood alcohol level would reveal that he'd been drinking three times the limit. He was supposed to be the designated driver for a group of friends. But when it was time to leave, they could see he was wasted. They refused to ride with him and left the party on foot. There were about 15, 20 minutes walk along the road when they see his car like fly by them. They watched as their friends Mercedes slammed into the taxi. They heard the explosive

25:13bang of the impact, the crunch of metal on metal. Then they started running toward the crash. They were the ones that told the boys that were burning cap. They also pulled Caleb from the Mercedes before flames overtook it. But not everyone could be saved. The taxi driver, Michael Raymond, was dead. He never regained consciousness from the time of the crash. He was this hardworking guy working in night shift for a local cab company. Here's this car full of innocence. Tragedy struck him through death. Some were maligned. Some of them had light-felt during injuries. Just for this other young guy, told he just regard friends and his own intuition not to drink a drive. There was some hangar there. The The

26:13Bridget and Bill were everything you'd expect parents in their position to be. Angry, disappointed, full of guilt, and worried about what the criminal charges would mean for their son's future. How do you even go on after something like this? It was very, very sad all of it. Caleb had a broken femur. His leg had been surgically repaired with a metal rod. He couldn't walk. His ant lives became his nurse. She spent a lot of time at her brother's house in the weeks after the crash. She remembers that things were especially tense between Bridget and Caleb. She was acting like a mother who was very disappointed in her child, which she would be. Caleb was charged with one count of impaired driving causing death and four counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. He faced the possibility of prison time. But in the mean time, he was released on strict bail conditions and fell into a period of darkness.

27:18He had caused a man's death, and now he'd have to live with the consequences. Melissa saw the crash as further proof that Caleb was a dangerous person who couldn't be trusted with her children. But criminal charges don't necessarily limit custody. In Canada, custody decisions are based on the best interests of the child. Kids are supposed to have as much contact as possible with both parents, so long as courts decide it's safe. This would be the key tension in the custody battle that unfolded. Melissa's belief that the children weren't safe with Caleb and his family. And Caleb's belief that his ex was doing everything in her power to keep them from him.

28:27This episode is brought to you by TickTack. Lay something, get your game on because the TickTack lineup just got a new teammate. Dr. Pepper TickTack, this new double threat puts two of your favorite flavors into one box of mince, and when two iconic flavors come together, the result can only be iconic. Score big, try Dr. Pepper TickTack today. On September 10th, I've waited such a long time for this, she has. Prepare to be bewitched to the own sisters. Yeah, everyone we love dies. It's not great for the tender fire. Sandra Bullock, here's the thing about magic. It won't be silenced. Nicole Kidman, everything's gonna be okay. It is gonna be okay. Just like it was when we had to bury a corpse under a roast bush. Different. The practical magic to the PD 13, maybe an appropriate for children under 13, only in theaters of 10th. Over the next few years, they played tug of war in family court. Caleb pushed for more time with the kids and gradually got it while Melissa fought to limit

29:33his access. Their arguments are documented in stacks of family court records. The children have been very happy to be reunited with me. I disagree with the applicant's assertion that the children have adjusted extremely well to the current access arrangement. I am ready, willing, and able to be part of our children's lives and not just a visiting father. The children have both told me that they do not wish to visit at the applicant's house. The respondent has acted as if she has soul and complete control of our children and that they are her possessions. During the summer they separated, weird things started happening. Melissa called the cops to say that a masked intruder had attacked her in her home, kicking her in the head, then fleeing. Afterward, police officers raced to pitch pine crescent, looking for Caleb. Four cruisers pulled up to the house at 2.45am.

30:35The officers found Caleb on crutches and in a hip-to-foot cast from the crash, barely able to walk. He wasn't the assailant. So who could it have been? Melissa reported two more home break-ins that summer. Each time, police questioned Caleb, but determined he couldn't have been involved. The Harrison's believed she was making the whole thing up to cast suspicion on Caleb to make him look bad in family court. She denied this allegation. Melissa has deliberately misled both Halton and peel police officers in her continued attempts to implicate me in acts of abuse. Caleb wasn't allowed to communicate with his ex, so his mother called Melissa weekly to ask if she would please let them see the kids. Bridget had started writing detailed accounts of every interaction they had with Melissa. In one call a few months after the

31:37separation, Bridget said Melissa insinuated that police believed Caleb was responsible for the home invasions. Bridget said Melissa told her, you will never see the children and hung up. But four months after the separation, Caleb finally got to hug his kids again. His son had turned four and his daughter too since he last saw them. The courts granted him visitation, two evenings a week, and every other weekend. He wanted 50-50, but this was a start. While Caleb was living at his family home on pitch pinecresson, his parents became very involved in the lives of their grandchildren. They did school drop-offs and pickups and took the kids to swimming lessons, appointments and play dates. Caleb wasn't allowed near his acts, so his parents handled the custody exchanges. This role put them in direct conflict with Melissa.

32:42Soon, every interaction was turning into a scene. It wasn't just Melissa. She had a new boyfriend in the picture. His name was Chris Fittore. He was an enormous man. Six-foot-four built like a linebacker and soft around the middle. He had the physical presence of a grizzly bear, but he seemed sweet and eager to jump into family life. Chris was fiercely protective of Melissa. After one custody hearing, the pair drove by Bridget and Caleb in the courthouse parking lot. The Harrison said Chris rolled down his window and shouted, you'll pay for this you fucking bastard. Over time, the courts began to rule in Caleb's favor. One judge said Melissa seemed to be trying to limit his access as much as possible. Melissa upped the ante. She claimed the children came home from pitch pinecresson,

33:43dirty and hungry. She accused Caleb and his parents of assaulting the kids. None of the abuse claims held up. One officer even concluded the children had been coached to lie. But while the claims were being investigated, Melissa withheld custody for weeks at a time, in one case over Christmas. Each time, the children had to be interviewed by police and social workers. These false allegations have a serious effect on the children. The inference is that I have done something wrong. A judge warned that if Melissa withheld custody again, police should apprehend the children and deliver them to the Harrison's. The officers who interviewed the kids noticed they were calling their father Caleb and calling their mother's boyfriend daddy. Melissa insisted the kids had started doing that on their own.

34:47Melissa pushed back hard against the narrative that she was inventing these allegations. I have never made any effort to alienate the children from their father. I'm a good mom and provide an excellent life for my children. If I don't protect them, who will? Bridget's brother Doug says she did not buy that. Melissa was doing everything within her control to separate Caleb from his own children. Bridget maintained the high ground. She didn't lie and she didn't exaggerate. She just told what was going on and how it was occurring. Everyone I spoke with said the idea of Bridget or Bill abusing the grandchildren was ridiculous. No mischievous. None. Never. Never, never, never.

35:47In October 2008, Caleb Harrison was found guilty for his role in the drunk driving crash that killed a taxi driver. Prosecutors wanted a two-year prison term. The defense asked for a conditional sentence with no jail time. They said Caleb had made a terrible decision when he was separated from his kids and depressed. Sergeant Davies was there in the courtroom for the proceedings, sitting on a bench behind the prosecutors. He'd finally realized why the name on the vehicle registration was familiar to him. He knew Bridget Harrison. She was my vice-president of my high school for many years. Davies could tell Caleb regretted what he'd done. There was a lot of remorse there. As usual, there were people in the court to support both the victims and the accused. As the lead investigator on the crime, Sergeant Davies knew most of them, but also a row or two behind

36:48him was a family he didn't initially recognize. A family that didn't appear to be there to support the victims or the perpetrator. The older gentleman was Callis St. Mrs. Ajoke, this is the joke. They appeared to be heckling Caleb and his family. I would turn around and look at them like they come on. They come here. Davies eventually figured out who they were. Caleb's ex-wife, her father, and her boyfriend. I was struck the fact that they were there to begin with. They had no standing in this case. It was like intimidation of bullying. It was really bad. He even heard one of the men sitting with Melissa, he doesn't know which one, using the N word to describe Caleb. They would succinct under their brunt to slough and all. The harassment became so concerning that Sergeant Davies asked for extra security. Ahead of the court date, Melissa's new boyfriend Chris had started a Facebook page,

37:52pushing for a tough sentence. One post included a doctored photo of Caleb with devil horns and a speech bubble that read, give me a beer in the key to Mommy's Mercedes. The merits were banking on Caleb getting a harsh sentence, but that's not what happened. I felt it was polite to be honest. I think it deserved a penitentiary term. In March 2009, Caleb was sentenced to a year and a half in provincial jail and two years probation. He'd be eligible for parole in six to nine months. His parents believed Melissa would use his incarceration as an opportunity to cut their family out of the children's lives for good. So they went to family court and asked a judge to give them Caleb's share of the 50-50 custody split while he was in jail. Melissa was outraged. It does not make any sense to name Bridget and

38:54Bill Harris in parents. She filed this affidavit without a lawyer, so it's written in her own words, and you can feel her exasperation. It can only be assumed that Caleb Harris and will not spend the rest of his adult life living with his parents. At some point, the grandparents have to be just that. Grandparents. She said 50% is way too much time, and she proposed grandparent visitation instead, one night a week and one weekend a month. A judge ruled in the Harrison's favor, saying pitch-pine crescent was the kid's second home and should remain so. The Harrison's had won. Bridget and Bill would effectively become parents, and share custody with the kid's mom, 50-50. Melissa had been outplayed. Three weeks into the shared custody arrangement while Caleb was in jail,

39:54Melissa and Chris packed up their house and told the kids they were going on a road trip. When Caleb's children disappeared, Bridget believed at first that his ex-wife had taken advantage of Bill's sudden passing and left town while the Harrison family was mourning and distracted. Bridget opened her mailbox one day and found a letter, postmarked the day after her husband's death. It was from Melissa, and it began Dear Bridget and Bill. I have been getting threatening phone calls and letters for a week now, and I'm getting very worried from mine and all the children's safety. I am writing to let you know that we have gone away for a bit, hopefully only until things settle down. The morning of Bill's funeral, Bridget called Melissa's father to ask again if he'd heard from her, and to remind him how important it was for the children to attend the service.

40:56He missed the call, but left her a voicemail that afternoon. Bridget, this is Michael Merritt calling. Our deepest condolences to your situation and the passing of Bill. This is Mike Merritt's message, read by a friend of the show. Bridget transcribed the voicemail and filed it with her family court records. I have a copy. Whereas deeply distressed as you are as parents and as grandparents with regards to Melissa and the family, we spend most of the weekend confirming the fact that they have in fact moved very abruptly. The whereabouts are unknown to us, and I believe everybody at this point. I probably understand that you find it hard to believe that we don't know anything about this, but if you could grasp the idea that we're as shocked as anybody. Bridget had a feeling that Mike Merritt wasn't going to be very helpful, so she did what she always did when confronted with a problem. She made a plan. Whatever it took, Bridget would find the children, but she had no way of knowing what it would cost her.

42:04Next time on What Happened to the Harrison's, police show up at Pitch Pine again. Bridget started to see things. There were a lot of things there that want to have raised serious flags. Her suspicions were very high of Christopher and Melissa involved in this. Don't want to wait for the next episode? You don't have to. Unlock all episodes of What Happened to the Harrison's Early and AdFree right now by subscribing to the binge, and it doesn't stop at what happened to the Harrison's. Subscribers get a binge drop of a brand new series on the first of every month. That's all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Search for the binge on Apple podcasts and hit subscribe. Not on Apple? Head to getthebinge.com to subscribe directly.

43:08What Happened to the Harrison's is an original production of Sony Music Entertainment. The show is hosted and reported by me, Amy Dempsey Raven. The lead producer is Cooper Moll. The series is written by me and Cooper. From Sony Music Entertainment, our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch. The series was sound designed and mixed by Scott Somerville. We use music from Epidemic Sound. Production managers are Tamika Balan's Colasney and Ashley Ann Craigbom. Fact checking by Fendell Fulton, additional production support by Myron Kaplan. Our lawyer is Alison Sherry. Special thanks to the Toronto star where my reporting on this story began more than a decade ago. If you value local investigative journalism, subscribe to a newspaper where you live. Please rate and review what happened to the Harrison's. It helps spread the word.

44:17When we love dies, it's not great for the tender fire. Sandra Bullock. Here's the thing about magic. It won't be silenced. Nicole Kidman. Everything is going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay? Just like it was when we had to bury a corpse under a rose bush? Different. Different. The practical magic too. Ready PG-13. Maybe an appropriate for children under 13. Only in theaters September 10th.