Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 1 recap – “Mystery on the Rooptop”

By Daniel Hart
Published: July 1, 2020 (Last updated: February 7, 2024)
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Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 1 recap - Mystery on the Rooftop - Rey Rivera
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Summary

Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, “Mystery on the Rooftop”, brings forth the strange disappearance of Rey Rivera and the confusion and sadness it brought on the family.

This recap of Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 1 recap, “Mystery on the Rooftop” contains information on the disappearance and death of Rey Rivera. 

Access our episode guide.


How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, Mystery on the Rooftop” begin?

The Rivera family discuss how Rey’s wedding with his wife was the happiest time of their lives. Allison doesn’t know why he disappeared — the police say he killed himself by jumping off the roof but the family does not believe that.

He was happy

The family state how happy he was and always found the fun in everything — his dream was to be a writer and director. He had a best friend called Porter who wanted to work with him — Rey took a writing job for this financial paper under Porter. The family moved to Baltimore in 2004 with an amazing home and community. Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, “Mystery on the Rooftop”, brings forth the strange disappearance of Rey Rivera and the confusion and sadness it brought on the family.

The family gather

One day in 2006, Allison couldn’t get in touch with Rey Rivera. A colleague said he received a phone call and rushed out. It was suspicious that he disappeared and out of the ordinary. The family gathered over a few days to try and find him.

The car and the roof

Eventually, Rey’s parents find the car. The car had a ticket so they knew it had been there for six days. Someone then discovered a hole in the roof of the Belvedere Hotel. The police found the body at the bottom of the hole. The family was devastated.

How did it happen?

As eight days had passed, most of the body had decomposed — he had loads of injuries, lacerations, broken bones. The question is, “How did he get through the hole?”. The first theory is that he fell or jumped off the top jump and hit the lower roof. The investigators did not believe that theory. Other theories included that he jumped from the 11th floor from the ledge. The hole was a mystery.

They find Rey’s cellphone and glasses — no damage to either of them. It all looked staged. It was also strange how no-one noticed this happened. The cameras on the rooftop weren’t working and the cameras in the hotel did not show Rey on the day. Nothing adds up in Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, “Mystery on the Rooftop”, regarding Rey Rivera’s disappearance; and there’s clearly more to it.

How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 1, Mystery on the Rooftop” end?

The police determined it to be suicide with little evidence. They find a note from Rey — it was a very unusual note and it missed significant people. One of the lines was from a Freemason’s speech — Rey was into those kinds of subjects. The FBI said the note doesn’t have suicidal intent.

On the day of the disappearance, Rey Rivera seemed to be in a hurry. A phone call caught him by surprise but they couldn’t get the phone records. Porter, his best friend, put a gag order on all his employees so no-one could talk to them, which was really suspicious. Porter also declined to be interviewed for this documentary. Before the night he disappeared, the house alarm went off and Rey was fearful. Something was worrying him. Allison believes Rey was murdered for having information and publishing information in the paper that hurt him. To this day, the disappearance of Rey still haunts the family.

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