Episode
48 Hours: Joe Hunter's Mission
Overview
Joe Hunter's emotional tribute to his late sister Joanna became one of the most talked-about moments of season 48 of "Survivor". Joanna’s death was officially ruled a suicide, but Joe says she was murdered and has made it his mission to uncover the truth.
Details
- Series
- 48 Hours
- Season
- Season 39
- Episode
- Episode 10
- Air date
- 2025-12-13
- Runtime
- 42 min
Episode context
Joe Hunter's Mission is Episode 10 in Season 39 of 48 Hours. It aired on 2025-12-13. The runtime is 42 min.
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Episode 9: Help Find Molly Bish's Killer
Molly Bish was just 16 years old when she went missing on June 27, 2000. She vanished after being dropped off at her lifeguarding job. What followed became the largest search in Massachusetts history. Her remains were eventually discovered, but her killer has never been identified. Decades later, Bish’s sister turns to social media, sharing her family’s story and urging the public to help generate new leads.
Episode 11: Coached to Kill
When a high school softball coach and one of her former players are arrested for the murder of Indiana man Shea Briar, the coach places all the blame on the player. Prosecutors, however, say the coach orchestrated the killing.
More episodes from this season
Episode 8: The Setup Murder of Kristil Krug
A stalker sends menacing messages to a young mother before she is murdered. The investigation reveals a sinister setup.
Episode 12: The Gaslighting of Hannah Pettey
When a gravely ill young woman is rushed to the hospital, doctors make a shocking discovery: she has an “astronomical” amount of lead in her body. What begins as a medical mystery quickly becomes a criminal investigation. Hannah Pettey, a young mother from Alabama, suffered debilitating pain and lost more than 45 pounds in the months prior as her health rapidly declined. Investigators focus on the two people she trusted the most as the police work to uncover who was poisoning Hannah, and why.
Episode 7: Tracker Dakota Black
Lieutenant Dakota Black is a trained tracker and detective with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office. When Makayla Meave goes missing, Black launches an investigation that leads to the discovery of the young mother found murdered.
Episode 13: Melissa Rocuba's Final Moments
A Pennsylvania man claims a freak accident while handling his gun caused the death of his wife, Melissa Rocuba. Bruno Rocuba was not arrested or charged with any crime. Years later, investigators uncover disturbing new evidence that challenges Bruno Rocuba’s story, including surveillance audio capturing his wife’s final moments. The recording raises haunting questions about what really happened in that bedroom and whether Melissa Rocuba’s death was truly an accident.
Episode 6: The Han Family Murders
A beloved doctor, his wife, and their young daughter are murdered, leaving their Santa Barbara, California, community reeling. A suspect emerges with a fantastical story of shadowy figures and intrigue straight out of a spy thriller.
Episode 14: The Mother I Wish I Knew
When Debe Atrops was murdered, her daughter, Rhianna Stephens, was just 8 months old. More than 30 years later, a cold case team from Washington County took a fresh look at the case by talking to witnesses and running new tests on old evidence. The team thought they had enough to prosecute Debe’s estranged husband at the time of her murder, Bob Atrops, who is also Stephens’s father. Stephens is convinced they have the wrong man—after losing her mother, she fears losing her father too.
Episode 5: Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence
Robin Lawrence was home alone with her 2-year-old daughter in Springfield, Virginia, when an unknown killer murdered her. Her toddler was left to fend for herself for two days until Robin’s body was discovered. Nearly 30 years later, cold case detectives uncovered a surprising suspect. "48 Hours" correspondent Anne-Marie Green reports.
Episode 15: The Sneak Attack on Katlyn Lyon
When Katlyn Lyon Montgomery died in October 2022, her mother turned to TikTok to share her grief and demand justice. As the case evolved from a possible accident to a homicide, she built an online community to help hold Katlyn’s killer accountable.
Episode 4: My Uncle Joe's Murder
Joe Shymanski was gunned down in the driveway of his Calvert County, Maryland, home in 2023. Now his niece mourns her uncle's murder and questions whether the convicted killer was the only one involved.
Episode 16: The Rx Defense
On December 23, 2023, police were called to a Texas home where two teenagers had been shot. Eighteen-year-old Ethan Riley died from his injuries, while 19-year-old Ben Bliek survived. Their friend, 17-year-old Connor Hilton, was arrested and later confessed to the shooting. He claims the shooting was triggered by a reaction to a popular prescription acne medication, saying it caused him to experience homicidal thoughts. Prosecutors, however, reject that explanation and say the evidence points elsewhere.