Was It Murder In Paradise?
A California woman vanished from a Caribbean island over a year ago.
Her husband was arrested then released.
So why is he still the prime suspect?
Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen tells the story of the missing Leta Cordes and talks to her closest friends, Cary Honstein and Elaine Karas, who are spearheading an effort to find out what happened to their dearest friend.
It seemed to be the perfect life: traveling the world with her husband, a home in paradise.
So what really happened to 49-year-old Leta Cordes?
Cordes went missing on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten in January 2008. St. Maarten authorities and friends suspect her husband of 20 years, Frank Cordes, is responsible for her disappearance.
In recent years, Leta spent her vacations with friends and family at her second home on St. Maarten.
"Leta absolutely loved it here," Karas said.
Her friends are spearheading the search for Cordes on St. Maarten.
"In the whole 20 years, there was never a violent phase with me and Leta," Frank Cordes, a computer animator, said.
He says he last saw his wife as she left one night for the casino at the nearby Westin Hotel.
But her friends don't buy that story.
"She just didn't, you know, go up in space and disappear. So we know that … the inevitable has happened. She's no longer with us. It's just been too long," Honstein said.
"We miss her, and we want to know where she is and what happened to her. And we're going to get to the bottom of it. There's no doubt about it. We have a very good idea of what happened that evening, but we need to find her," said Karas.
As for Frank Cordes, he was arrested in October. But after nearly three months, island authorities released him without charges.
"We felt we didn't have enough evidence for a conviction. Yes, he's the only suspect. There's no indication whatsoever that someone else is involved," said prosecutor Taco Stein.
"We're in it for the long haul. We're hoping it's sooner than later. But we're willing to wait if it's later," Honstein said.