Investigators quickly determine that Moriah "Mo" Wilson, shot dead at a friend's home, was not a random target. After a few interviews, they realize Wilson's past relationship with Colin Strickland did not sit well with his current girlfriend, yoga instructor and real estate agent Kaitlin Armstrong.
The day after police question her, Armstrong sells her Jeep Grand Cherokee to a CarMax in South Austin for $12,000. The same Jeep appears on surveillance video near the scene of Wilson's murder. The next day, Armstrong books a flight out of Austin.
Eight days after Wilson's murder, investigators link Armstrong to the crime, and a warrant is issued for her arrest. As the warrant is issued, police discover she is already gone.
Surveillance footage at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport captures Armstrong boarding a flight to Houston, then on to New York. Investigators track her to New York's LaGuardia Airport, where she is seen again on surveillance video before seemingly vanishing.
They later trace her to Newark International Airport but find no outbound flights under her name. However, had they looked closely, they might have noticed a young woman with brown hair flying out of Newark using the passport of her sister, who also has brown hair and lives in New York. A check with Homeland Security reveals "Christie Armstrong" left Newark on a one-way flight to Costa Rica.
Armstrong lands in San José, Costa Rica, but does not stay long. She quickly disappears again. A month later, a source reports she may be hiding in Santa Teresa. After days of searching with no success, U.S. Marshals try a new tactic: placing ads for a yoga instructor. After nearly a week, they get a break—someone responds.
An investigator, posing as a tourist, visits a hostel to get a closer look at the woman. She resembles Armstrong but not exactly. As he gets closer, he notices a bandage on her nose and swollen lips, but her eyes remain the same. Investigators now understand why she was so difficult to find—she had undergone plastic surgery.
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