Before 9/11: The FBI's First War On Terror Investigation - Operation Goldenrod Plane Hijack

A worn $20 in a Charlotte bank sparks a three-year chase across America. What begins as a counterfeiting case unravels into something far darker than agents ever imagined. This FBI Files Movie of the Week pulls you inside the evidence rooms, the interviews, and the moment the case turns from money to menace. Watch to see how agents piece together the Mall Passer’s depraved legacy—and what they still need to find.

A 727, a ransom, and a jump into the dark. What followed rewired aviation and ignited a nationwide hunt. This episode traces the real-life chase for Richard Floyd McCoy Jr., from the San Francisco ransom drop to that mysterious bump over Utah sky. Follow the search across Provo’s mud flats, the tip that changed everything, and the fingerprint and handwriting hits that cracked the case. Then the story swerves: a plaster-made .45 in a prison dental lab, a garbage truck jailbreak, a swamp pursuit, and a quiet Virginia stakeout that ends it all. Along the way, the shadow of D.B. Cooper looms large: the tie clip, the parachutes, the identical playbook, and a riverbank discovery years later that kept the legend alive. If you think you know the Cooper story, wait until you see how McCoy’s trail forced new aircraft design and left one question hanging in the air. Watch to uncover the choices, the luck, and the clues investigators still can’t shake. Watch now for the full investigation and decide for yourself.

A cross-country predator leaves a red Chevy behind and a hostage in danger. Inside the dragnet, the FBI pieces together a killer's trail before time runs out. From Sarah Mitchell’s roadside escape to a shotgun standoff with police, this episode follows the breakneck search that begins in West Palm Beach and points to a chilling name: Paul John Knowles. A hidden Volkswagen, a Fort Pierce motel check-in under an alias, and a yellow Dodge Demon tie-ins raise the stakes. As Agent James Cavanaugh builds a psychological profile, evidence links Knowles to a murdered schoolteacher in Jacksonville Beach, a brutal Atlantic Beach killing, and a Milledgeville double homicide traced through stolen clothing and a newspaper clipping. With Deborah Taylor captive and Knowles obsessively scanning newscasts, investigators chase credit card breadcrumbs across dozens of states and a last will that finally reveals his identity. What they uncover about his past changes the urgency of the hunt. Watch to see how a red Impala, a forged identity, and a terrifying confession push the FBI to close in before he kills again.

A respected dentist. A city on edge. And a trail of bodies stretching across decades. This chilling FBI investigation peels back the mask of Glennon Engelman, the St. Louis “deadly dentist” tied to car bombs, staged accidents, and cold-blooded executions for cash. From a Madison County farmhouse massacre to a body staged at a seedy motel, investigators chase a phantom who always seems one step ahead. A car bomb shatters the quiet south side, but a misfired device from months earlier reveals an unexpected link. An ex-wife’s terrified testimony opens locked doors: an alleged quarry “accident,” a drag-strip blast, and a suspicious 1958 killing that never sat right. Insurance windfalls, forged signatures, a bogus confession, and a killer’s arrogance converge as agents connect dots others missed. How did a mediocre dentist outmaneuver cops for years? What tiny forensic match finally cracks the case? And why did so many people closest to him keep paying with their lives? Watch the full story to see how investigators exposed the method behind the murders and the motive that never changes.

In 1996, a group of political extremists twice robbed a bank in Washington, using home-made bombs and military precision to escape. The FBI learned that the robbers were part of a shadowy organisation

In June 1973, a young girl was abducted from a state park on the Missouri River while camping with her family. Several months passed with no leads, then an FBI agent took a particular interest in the case.