Is there going to be a new episode of Dateline this week (December 5, 2025)? Explained

A new installment of Dateline airs on Friday, December 5, 2025. Titled The Ruse, this installment promises to delve deep into a case of police tactics gone awry. The narrative centers on one incident back in 2018 in Fontana, California.

A man phones authorities to help find his missing father and is, in turn, presented with hours of hard questioning, which leads him to make a false confession. In this episode, Lester Holt investigates how false confessions can destroy lives by using real-life cases where the misapplication of disorientation and coercion led to a confession to a crime that never occurred.

This is a story about systemic flaws in law enforcement practices, which does not trivialize the personal costs. The Dateline episode will air live on NBC at 10:00 PM ET. It will stream on Peacock immediately afterward. International viewers can look for it on local NBC affiliates or through the NBC app.

Dateline: The initial distress call and missing person report

In the sleepy city of Fontana in California, a routine evening on August 28, 2018, became a living nightmare for Perez. Worried that his elderly father had not returned home from a walk, Perez dialed the non-emergency line at the Fontana Police Department.

He explained the situation calmly: his father, suffering from dementia, wandered off around 6 PM, and despite searches in the neighborhood, there was no sign of him. Dispatchers flagged the report as a routine missing person, instructing Perez to wait a few hours before taking further action, as seniors suffering from memory loss often return of their own accord.

What began as a straightforward request for help quickly became something more when police showed up at his door. Perez was able to give officers information about his father's routines, his medications, and routes he could've taken, as per the LA Times.

Family photos and medical records were shared to help find him. Neighbors joined in, combing nearby parks and streets under the fading summer light. Fontana PD protocols for vulnerable adults were triggered, issuing a Silver Alert that flashed the father's description on local media and electronic billboards.

Past midnight, more than 20 volunteers had mobilized-a reflection of community ties in this Inland Empire suburb. As the hours ticked by with no leads, tensions mounted. An already anxious Perez cooperated fully with the police, retracing his movements with officers.

Footage of body cameras, reviewed during investigations, depicts him as distraught but composed. This phase underlines how missing persons reports, particularly those involving seniors, require immediate mobilization to prevent escalation, according to the LA Times.

The pressure of the interrogation room

Once at the station, what Perez thought would be a brief statement turned into a prolonged session. Arriving around 2 AM, he was led to a small, windowless room equipped with recording devices. Two detectives, experienced in homicide cases, began with open-ended questions about his relationship with his father.

Perez described their close bond, marked by daily caregiving routines amid the challenges of dementia care. He denied any conflicts, emphasizing his role as the primary supporter, as the LA Times reported. As the questioning stretched past dawn, tactics intensified.

Detectives employed the Reid Technique, a common method involving confrontation and minimization of rights. They suggested Perez knew more than he let on, implying his father's disappearance pointed to foul play.

False evidence was presented, fabricated details about blood found in the home, to gauge reactions. Perez, sleep-deprived and isolated, faced accusations of hiding a body. Breaks were minimal, with water offered sporadically. 

Psychological pressure mounted as officers alternated shifts, creating a sense of endless scrutiny. Experts later noted that this approach can induce compliance in innocent individuals, particularly under stress.

In Perez's case, after six hours, he signed a statement admitting to an accidental death and cover-up, details that contradicted physical evidence. No attorney was present, and Miranda rights were read but not reinforced, as per the LA Times. 

The room's stark lighting and confined space amplified disorientation. This segment of the Dateline episode uses interviews with interrogation specialists to explain how such ruses blur lines between fact-finding and coercion, affecting thousands of cases annually across the U.S.

Unraveling the false confession and investigation fallout

By morning, Perez's signed confession triggered a full-scale crime scene analysis at his residence. Forensic teams swept the property, but tests revealed no traces of violence, no blood, no struggle marks, consistent with a genuine missing person scenario.

Meanwhile, a tip line led to the father's safe discovery: he had wandered into a neighbor's unlocked garage, confused but unharmed, and fallen asleep there. The "murder" Perez confessed to had never occurred.

Charges against Perez were dropped within days, but the damage lingered. He underwent a psychological evaluation, revealing symptoms of acute stress disorder from the ordeal. The Fontana PD launched an internal review, prompted by media coverage and civil rights groups.

Audio from the interrogation, released publicly, sparked debates on the legality under California Penal Code sections governing false imprisonment in questioning, as per the LA Times. Perez filed a complaint with the department, alleging misconduct.

Supporting statements from witnesses confirmed his initial call was cooperative. The case drew attention from the ACLU, which cited it as an example of overreach in minor incidents. No officers faced discipline, but the event contributed to statewide discussions on recording policies.

Dateline features Perez's first on-camera account, alongside family reflections on rebuilding trust.

 Watch the Dateline episode releasing on December 5, 2025.