Redeemed conspirator Diane Crenshaw
Diane Crenshaw aka Frida (Michele Duquet) is a villainess (remorseful) from "I Thought I Knew You", episode 1.04 of Missing (airdate August 23, 2003). She was introduced as the wife of graphic designer Mike Crenshaw and the mother of their 18-year-old daughter, Cara.
History[]
Diane's backstory revealed that, in the late 70s, she was a member of the American Revolutionary Brotherhood (ARB), a radical anarchist group run by sociology professor Ted Banfield; going by the alias Frida within the group. The group was known for committing bank robberies, holding the banks hostage before blowing up the safe and making off with the money. A heist in Chicago, however, went awry when security guards opened fire on the group, leading to a shootout in which ARB member Cindy Novotny shot and killed customer Ron Hartman.
Cindy and Banfield were arrested afterwards, while Diane and Theresa Rasenti escaped by posing as frightened customers. In the years that followed, Diane met and married Mike, who learned about his wife's villainous past at some point and decided to stay with her despite it; all while keeping Diane's past a secret from Cara.
Events[]
The episode began with the Crenshaw family travelling on a vacation; their last vacation as a family before Cara was set to leave for college. While Cara was inside a gas station buying snacks, however, Diane and Mike noticed a police car nearby. Having already learned on the news that Theresa was caught and arrested three days prior, the Crenshaws feared the police were set to arrest Diane and fled the scene, leaving their car and Cara behind. The FBI's investigation and Jess Mastriani's psychic dreams led to the revelation that Diane was the previously unidentified woman who escaped police capture after the botched ARB robbery. Later on, Cara was abducted from the home of her neighbor Janine Eberhard, with the FBI team believing that Banfield (who had been released from prison) had kidnapped Cara to get revenge on Diane.
However, Banfield was cleared of suspicion due to having an alibi for Cara's abduction, and the true culprit was revealed to be Ron Hartman, Jr.; the son of Ron Hartman, who had been at the bank with Ron when he was shot and killed during the ARB heist, having kidnapped the Crenshaws as part of his plan to kill Cara in revenge for Diane's role in his father's murder. The Crenshaws were tracked down to an abandoned schoolhouse in Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania, where Diane and Mike were found gagged and tied to a piano. After being ungagged by Brooke Haslett, Diane revealed that Ron saw the FBI coming and ran with Cara, begging the team to rescue her daughter. After Brooke convinced Ron to let Cara go and surrender, Diane and Mike (both having been handcuffed by the FBI) rushed up to their daughter, who confronted them about lying to her for her whole life and deserting her to avoid arrest. A remorseful Diane responded by saying that she and her husband lied to protect Cara and to avoid her becoming an accessory to her crimes, and that they had planned to come back for her after fleeing. After Diane assured her daughter that she loved her, Brooke revealed that the Crenshaws were going to be arrested, with the couple being taken into custody after a heartbroken Cara was led away by Jess.