Tonight on 20/20 ` the shocking story of a woman dragged from her bed. He said, 'I'm going to kill you like I killed those other three.' Nortessa Montgomerie tells her terrifying story. It was pretty much right here that I realised I might not be alive the next day. A camera rediscovered after three years at the bottom of a river. You put the card in the computer,... You put the card in the computer,... Yep. You put the card in the computer,... Yep. and what comes up? Hundreds of pictures, but one starts an incredible search. This picture ` just something about her said, 'I'm ill. Please get me back to my family.' Dos bottles! Vodka! And blackout parties. It's not a problem. It's the whole point. This guy's already blacked out. Already. He's already blacked out. This girl ` we're about to make it official. The 'binge, booze, party' craze sweeping America. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Sonia Wilson. Sophie Elliot, Emily Longley ` young women who lost their lives at the hands of violent men. Nortessa Montgomerie counts her blessings when she thinks of these women, because unlike them, she survived. Nortessa was also the victim of brutal violence. Kidnapped by a former boyfriend she endured hours of physical pain, death threats and the fear that he had already killed her little brother. Tonight she shares her very personal, very raw story with 20/20's Emma Keeling. Just a warning here, though ` there is some strong language. TENSE MUSIC DRAMATIC MUSIC SOMBRE MUSIC This is a story of survival. This my old room. This is where I grew up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. How does it feel when you` when you walk into the room like this? How does it feel when you` when you walk into the room like this? I don't walk into the room. Like, since the night it happened, I haven't, um, slept in here, I haven't` It took me months to even walk in this far. I won't go in and close the door. Not at all. SOMBRE MUSIC Memories ` what he did, how she fought back. Bring her fucking back! LAUGHTER She's a survivor. People love ya. We want you back. Mr Boulter, please stand. Nathan Boulter, you appear for sentence today, having pleaded guilty on several... There were nine charges. One of kidnapping, two of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm... For 39 hours Nathan Boulter dragged Nortessa Montgomerie through the bush on Great Barrier Island ` a place she felt most loved, where she faced death. Hi, cutie. Nortessa grew up with her dad on the island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf. So how much is your camera worth? (LAUGHS) Two years ago the 19-year-old was living in Auckland City when she met Nathan Boulter. I didn't know what to look for. I'd never seen or been in a violent relationship before. I mean, he was quite forceful just naturally, but I thought that was just a bravado of` you know, just the macho male thing. It started with a push, then violence, domination. And as soon as I realised, I wanted to stop it, but by then he had convinced me so much was wrong with me... that I needed him. And I didn't know how to leave a violent man. I thought it would be easy as going back to our house and telling him I'm leaving. So I was so naive. And as soon as the words came out of my mouth ` 'I'm leaving you' ` he just flew into this rage. But you did leave him, and then you went with him to Invercargill. Why? Promises of a better relationship. Um... See, when I was away from him for that week, and then I saw him again, uh,... he` he was so charming. And he was so sorry. And I was... I was convinced that this boy really wanted to change, and I was down there for all of three weeks before it really hit the fan. SOMBRE MUSIC I never ever thought... that I would be the person that would have suicidal thoughts till he came into my life. So you left him again and then ran to the police? I did, yeah. I pressed charges, and, uh... and I thought I'd never have to see him again. SOLEMN MUSIC Leaving Boulter in Invercargill, she went back to the Barrier ` home, where she'd be safe. There's a lot of love there. If you're, uh, one of their daughters, you're everyone's daughter. Was it fun growing up on the island? Absolutely. It was a blast. We didn't` I didn't really own a pair of shoes till I was 12 years old. It's peaceful, remote. So, how many people live on the island? About 800. Um,... well, I think it's 800. Cos there's no electricity. You're not on the grid, are you? Cos there's no electricity. You're not on the grid, are you? No, no, we're not on the grid. We're all solar panels and generators, and it's kinda lights out at 9 o'clock for us. (PLAYS BLUES MUSIC) Nortessa thought the Barrier was the perfect place to hide. (LAUGHS) She slipped back into island life, even met a new guy ` a nice one. APPLAUSE, CHEERING She was fine. Her secret was buried deep. Not even her dad, Peter, knew. I was always really scared to tell my father. I didn't understand why I couldn't tell him, because he's my best friend. But I was embarrassed. So, when did you first find out that` that he was a violent guy? Um, well, basically, that night. Um,... yeah, he'd been ringing the week before he came here, telling me he was gonna kill himself, and, um, n-not really the angle someone comes at if they're gonna hurt somebody else. But Boulter was out on bail for assaulting Nortessa and had threatened her on Facebook. I was talking to the police, and he was on the run and they couldn't find him. But... I-I never thought that I was in danger until I started getting those death threats. I could see she was a bit concerned that he was gonna turn up, and she rung the local police, and they says, 'Oh, he won't get on this island. 'We've got it sorted out at the boat, and we've got it sorted out at the airport. No, he won't get over.' Well, he just walked straight over ` gave a false name, and he was here. On January 20th last year, Nathan Boulter arrived by ferry... and went looking for Nortessa. Then we're just going to add the same amount of cloudy apple juice. FUNKY MUSIC And to finish up, our beautiful, fresh raspberry ice tea. The sun's coming out. The Russian Iced Tea using Smirnoff Vodka goes perfectly with these moments. You've got awesome flavours going on here, with Smirnoff, cloudy apple juice and the freshness of raspberry ice tea. Just delicious. Now, the quality of vodka you use makes a real difference, which is why I'm starting pure with Smirnoff. Refreshing, fruity ` this will be the drink of summer. Perfect when the day turns into night. First up, just fill your glass completely with ice. Then we're going to take our Smirnoff and add 45ml. Then we're just going to add the same amount of cloudy apple juice. And to finish up, our beautiful, fresh raspberry ice tea. Then we're just going to add in a wedge of lemon and a sprig of mint. Little clap to release the aromas. There you have it ` the Russian Iced Tea using Smirnoff Vodka. Cheers. For the recipe... ...or go to themix.co.nz, where you can also win great prizes. Look out for Smirnoff and free Lipton Raspberry Ice Tea off The Mix stand this month while stocks last. Check it out. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. Nortessa Montgomerie thought she was safe. She'd left her violent boyfriend down south, pressed charges with police and headed north to her family home on Great Barrier Island. But her ex-partner had other ideas. Emma Keeling with part two of one woman's amazing story of survival. Nathan Boulter had arrived. He'd come for Nortessa. It was late. Her 7-year-old brother and his mate were sleeping upstairs when she and boyfriend Mike went to bed. Lying beneath them, Boulter was waiting. The lights were off and all I feel is just this crack and I'm knocked out. And it took me a couple of minutes to come through` come to, and I, um` When I woke up, I stumbled back and turned on my bedroom light. And Michael's lying there. EMOTIONALLY: He looked dead. And I didn't know what had happened. And I looked up... and I see his face. And he says,... 'I bet you're glad to see me.' There was nowhere to go, no one to hear. He'd pushed me out this door, and he's screaming at me. He was, like, 'You slut, you slut, I'm gonna teach you a lesson.' And he picks me up by my hair and grabs me by the leg and tips me over the deck and` and started smashing my head up against that pole. I kept getting knocked out and then coming back into consciousness. He sees this grubber, this double-sided axe down here, so, um, we come under here. And he's` You know, he's still dragged me and he grabs this grubber with his other hand, and, um... and, you know, I'm screaming and fighting. It was pretty much right here that I realised that, you know, I... (SIGHS) I might not, um,... be alive the next day. I was just so scared of going in those trees. Nortessa didn't have a choice. That was to come. Three hours later, her dad came home. I come in here. One step in, there's blood everywhere. There's blood on the walls. There's blood on the ceiling, all down the corridor here, all the way from the back room ` everywhere. Boyfriend Mike had come to and called the police. He's sitting there covered in blood, just saying, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We'll go and find her. We'll go and find her.' I come out here. There's another policeman out here somewhere, so I get on the fucking edge of the deck, and I scream out, 'We're coming for you, kid! You fucking hang on! We're coming for you! 'Fuck, we'll be there. I'll get the fucking crew! We're coming, you cunt! Bring her fucking back!' A storm was moving in. He just gave me the most solid knee to the head. And when I came to, I'd been dragged down half of this hill... into the bush. And he says, 'Get on your knees.' And he takes this axe, and he puts it behind my neck. And then he said, 'I'm gonna kill you like I killed those other three.' So at this point I've thought... I thought that he's, uh, killed my little brother. So by then... I'm just broken. Night became day. Everyone was looking. I wanted her back here, and I-I-I was gonna do anything I could to get her back here. You know, so we just had to get out and start searching, get crews together, groups of boys together: 'Right, you go up there. You go up there. We'll meet back here.' Day became night. He slept on me with his arms wrapped around me so I couldn't move. I had to sit there for hours smelling him. He would try and kiss me, pretend that we were back together. I-I was literally sick. He wouldn't let me drink water. He wouldn't let me go to the toilet. I could hear dogs. He` He was still making me walk. He was trying to find a place to kill me and kill himself, and by then I` This was a sick game. I didn't wanna play it any more. And then he'd taken his singlet off. And next thing I know, he had it wrapped around my neck. He had me on the ground. And he was just pulling. And I was, like,... scratching at my neck, and I realised I can't get it off. And then I just remember everything went black. And then I could just feel all this wetness... running down my leg. I'd actually been strangled to the point of losing my bodily fluids. And then I just feel this kick to my ribs. And he just says, 'You fucking slut. You pissed on my socks.' You have such a close bond with her, but your head must have been saying, 'She's dead.' I had hope. I had hope because, um, I know she's a clever girl, you know, and she's a` she's a survivor, so she didn't lose sight of what was important ` stay alive, come home. People love ya. We want ya back. Because so many people turned up with so much caring, so much love, we couldn't` we couldn't really lose her forever, you know. It... It just wasn't part of that script that, um... We needed her, you know. SOMBRE MUSIC On the morning of the second day, exhausted, beaten, Nortessa had a moment of clarity. She knew the way home. Where did you find that strength from? It was just this euphoric experience. I closed my eyes... And this is at the point where I just thought he was gonna beat me to death. And all I saw was my dad, and I could feel just this immense amount of love, and I wasn't gonna leave my family. I couldn't do that to my family. I just had to get back to them. Yeah. I couldn't physically beat him, but mentally I knew that he wouldn't be here doing this if there wasn't some thought in his head that we should be together, uh, so I just realised that it was the only chance I had. It made her feel sick, but she had to pretend she still loved him. And after hours of persuasion and just hugging him and trying to tell him that I love him, trying to speak nice words to him. Telling him that we'll get out of this, and he wanted me to tell the police that Michael had assaulted me and that Nathan was protecting me. So I let him think that that's what I'd say. After 39 hours, Nortessa stumbled out of the bush into the arms of her friends. I could tell that they were really perplexed by what... what they were looking at. Why am I holding this guy's hand? And I'm covered in bruises, and my eyes are bloodshot red, and... And then, uh, they just chuck me in this car. And they get him on the ground, and he's screaming, 'Tell them what happened!' And... I just couldn't speak. I'm just heaving, crying. I want to know where my dad is. Uh, it was heart-breaking. Heart-breaking to see my` my precious little darling, you know, in such a mess. He kept saying,... (WHISPERS) 'I could feel you.' He said, 'I knew that you weren't dead.' My physical injuries ` I had multiple contusions to my head. Uh, I had a haemorrhage in the left front side of my brain. He was taking chunks of my hair and putting them in his pockets. And I was letting him do it, cos I was, like, 'If you kill me, you've got my DNA all over you.' June. Nathan Boulter's sentencing. The court heard that his behaviour had changed for the worse when he was abused at 13. The judge considered not only his guilty plea but signs of an underlying psychotic illness. He was sentenced to eight years, six months. Is it enough? I think if he uses that time wisely enough to actually figure out what the hell is going on in his head to make him want to hurt me so bad, then eight years is enough. But if he, at the end of all of this, is still that person that thinks it's OK to lay hands on women, then he can rot in there. Nortessa can see now what she couldn't see then. Girls have to harden up. They've` They've gotta stop thinking that a little slap here and there is OK, or, you know, being called certain names is OK, because you teach someone how to treat you. PEACEFUL MUSIC It's been 19 months since Nortessa was kidnapped. Whee! Whee! BOY: Yeah, buddy! Have you got it? Have you got it? I need to tighten my grip. Oh. Have you got it? I need to tighten my grip. Oh. < Ooh, wait. Boulter lied about killing her brother Jacob, but he's left his mark on this family. It's a pannie. It's a pannie. < It's a pannie, but it's probably not 27. No. No. < Do you want to risk it and measure it? Nah. Nah. < Do you wanna give it a kiss it and say goodbye? She's still surviving. Home you go. I've recently lost... A good friend of mine, um, was killed at the hands of domestic violence. Uh, also, you know, uh, just friends and family members going through it and just when you're in that situation, you are so blind, so it` it really hurts me to watch people that I love go through that, knowing exactly how it's going to end. You know, you're either gonna be controlled and and extremely timid with no self-worth or you're gonna be dead. OK. If you or anyone you know is in an abusive relationship, or if you're worried about your own behaviour and would like to change, there are people who can help. Have a look at our Facebook page for details. Next up on 20/20 ` an amazing story of loss and recovery. In a rock-strewn stream he spotted an old camera. On a whim he takes it home and pries open the memory card slot. You put the card in the computer. You put the card in the computer. Yep. This picture. Just something about her said, 'I'm ill... 'Please` Please get me back to my family.' Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. A camera lost in a creek for three years is being returned to its owner, thanks to some pretty clever detective work by a man who studied the pictures on its memory card. One picture in particular so touched him that he couldn't rest until it was with its owner. Jay Schadler reports on the series of clues that led to the camera's owner. What secrets does a falling camera hold when by chance... it vanishes into a rushing stream? What whirlpool of images and memories are now lost forever? These are the questions behind our story, and this is the man whose remarkable journey will answer them. I saw something that wasn't a rock or a stick or a snake, and I picked it up. During this past 4th of July weekend, John Noerr took a camping trip deep into the Adirondack Mountains. In a rock-strewn stream he spotted an old camera. It was under about almost a foot of water. I thought, you know, 'This is junk.' But even junkyards are alive with stories. Might this battered and drenched camera be the same? On a whim, he takes it home and pries open the memory card slot. You put the card in the computer. You put the card in the computer. Yep. You put the card in the computer. Yep. And what comes up? All these pictures. I counted 581. People, landscapes, flowers ` a common collage that might reside in any of our cameras. Certainly of no importance to John. But then he saw this. This picture. Just something about her said, 'I'm ill. Please... Please get me back to my family.' John's own grandmother had recently died. I was the last relative in our family to be photographed with her, and it turned out to be her final photograph. Convinced this picture may be equally important, he's determined now to find the camera's owner. But how? Combining old-school detective work with new-fangled technology, he begins his search. One of the first images he sees is of Macy's in New York City. He pins it. Drop a pin. Call it 'first photo from folder zero'. There. Assuming the camera owner even lives in or around New York, he only has a few million more places and people to track down. But he figures the key to the puzzle might lie with this picture ` a young woman in front of a house numbered 327. I find 327, I find the girl. I find the girl, I return the camera. That's the plan. That's the plan. That's the plan. Easier said than done. For weeks he scours the images, spending hours online searching for clues. For instance, he sees this warehouse with graffiti written across the top. So I typed that phrase into... into Google. And boom ` up comes pictures of this block. 3rd St in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He decides to stroll a few blocks in the neighbourhood using Google Earth, looking for a house numbered 327. Go down a few blocks, eventually I'll come to a 327. But every 300 block he rolls down ends the same way. How many dead ends do you think you hit? How many dead ends do you think you hit? Oh, lots. But then he learns digital images have time stamps embedded in them. So now he knows the woman in front of 327 posed for this picture only seconds later. And over her shoulder, he sees an intersection with some unique features ` these unusual windows, green neon lettering and a tiny 3rd Ave sign. So he starts a painstaking digital drive down mile after mile of 3rd Ave, looking for that corner. I get to this spot, I'm, like, 'Oh, look at that. Green lettering.' I get to this spot, I'm, like, 'Oh, look at that. Green lettering.' Ah. (LAUGHS) Take a little closer look at it. Two storeys. It's got rounded windows on the top. I'm still on 3rd Ave. If that's the building, then it has to be down this street. Sure enough, a quick left turn... I was, like, 'Yes!' 327 80th St, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Turns out the mystery woman grew up here. But the camera's not hers. You know this neighbourhood like the back of your hand. 'It's her brother's. Michael Comeau. Keeper of the camera's original secret.' I was camping in the Adirondacks, and I was taking pictures on top of this little bridge that was on top of a stream. And somehow I just` it just fumbled out of my hands. And it felt like it was in slow motion. I could have sworn it took 20 minutes for it to get in the water. Michael searched and searched without luck. I would wonder what happened to that camera, but I just kind of thought of it just, like, floating around somewhere. Of course, it was. For three years. Until... A very very bright and generous guy named John just found, a month ago... Now, thanks to John, Michael records himself opening a very special delivery. So, yeah, look at this baby. But his excitement is tempered by a surprising feeling ` it's hard for him to look at the pictures. This whole period where these pictures were taken, it was a really really bad time in my life. So these pictures bring back that wave of darkness. Yeah. Absolutely. Especially the one that inspired John's search. She was Michael's mom, and she died six months after this picture was taken. But Michael's first reaction to the pictures was not his last. In some ways I think it's kind of like... a cosmic gift. Photographs, he realised, are freeze-frames of times ` even hard times ` that can eventually melt. It makes me happy to know what I was going through didn't last forever and that I came out the other side. From a wooden bridge in the forest to Bay Ridge in the city. Out of the Adirondacks... 256 miles away. ...to cross New York state, down into the city... A most unusual journey, compliments of a stranger, a camera and a little help from the universe. Amazing. Next up on 20/20 ` intoxication nation. We look at the extreme lengths teens are going to to get drunk. For some kids, even pounding straight vodka is lame. ...in my vagina. Beer not your thing? How about a vodka-soaked tampon? ...soaking them in liquor and shoving them... Um, so that the alcohol affects them quicker and harder. And for the truly dedicated... eyeball shots. (YELLS) No pain, no gain. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. Kids these days are devising more and more ways to get wasted. As one former teen alcoholic tells us tonight, behaviour that was once considered uncool, like drinking until you black out, is now being celebrated. In the States vodka now comes in kid-friendly flavours like bubblegum, cotton candy, marshmallow and peanut butter and jelly. Kids don't even need fake IDs any more. Some online vendors will ship alcohol to anyone who places an order. It's 10pm. Do you know where your kids are? You might not want to know. Barstool! ALL: Barstool! Barstool! They could be lining up for a wild travelling circus known as a Blackout party ` a raucous techno concert notorious for the scandalous outfits and sometimes debauched behaviour of its young guests,... Party with sluts! ...some of whom are already liquored up before the doors even open. Dos bottles. Dos bottles. Dos bottles of what? > Dos bottles. Dos bottles of what? > Vodka! At Blackout Tour stops, alcohol poisoning and drunk and disorderly arrests have been as common as empty beer cans at a frat party. Police say six people were arrested. Montclair in New Jersey was a particularly rambunctious night. At least 20 people had to be hospitalised, most of them for alcohol poisoning. In Chicago, in the span of 90 minutes, we saw this young man fall on his face, some kids get ejected before the party even starts, and this young guy got carted off in an ambulance after he was discovered passed out on the sidewalk. I think a lot of people that are showing up to these parties already have these behaviours in place. They're already drinking explicitly to get drunk... Koren Zailckas would know. Her high school and college years were soaked in booze. She chronicled what she could remember about those years in her best-selling cautionary tale, Smashed, and its 2010 follow-up, Fury. I did terrible things in a blackout. I vandalised property. I certainly had, um, unplanned sexual encounters. Students majoring in alcohol is at least as old as Animal House. I needed that. But Zailckas says the Blackout Tour is emblematic of how some of today's young partiers regard binging and blacking out ` 'It's not a problem; it's the whole point.' This guy's already blacked out. Already. Already. He's already blacked out. This girl is done. Blackouts are even celebrated. Check out Katy Perry's hit 'Last Friday Night'. # It's a blacked-out blur, but I'm pretty sure it ruled. # There's not a stigma associated to blacking out any more. The goal is to get as drunk as you can as fast as you can. I black out every single time I drink. This group of teens in Tennessee ` all of them binge drinkers now in court-ordered counselling ` opened up about today's blackout culture. I thought it was cool. 'Everybody's doing it. Why not?' I killed a half a gallon my first time drinking. I took alcohol to school. You would think the more you drink, the better you'd feel, so I would drink more. According to the CDC, 90% of alcohol consumed by underage kids is in the form of binge drinking. My drink of choice? Vodka. Straight vodka. For some kids, even pounding straight vodka is lame. Click over to YouTube and you'll find some real creative thinking on the 'best ways' to get plastered. Beer not your thing? How about a vodka-soaked tampon? ...soaking them in liquor and shoving them... So that, uh, the alcohol affects them quicker and harder. And for the truly dedicated, eyeball shots. No pain, no gain. The few people I managed to find who have done them or knew people who had done them said it burns. These kids also mentioned a popular trend ` booze-infused Gummi Bears. I took 'em to school and ate 'em. It gets you drunk? It gets you drunk? Mm-hm. Yes, it does. It's like taking shots. And Zailckas says the alcohol industry has noticed that many young drinkers have a sweet tooth. Take a look at this recent Smirnoff ad. Vodka never felt this good. Fluffed-marshmallow and whipped-cream flavour vodka. I mean, those are definitely not for the adult palate, right? I mean, I think the alcohol industry knows what the scientific community knows ` the younger you are when you have your first drink, the more likely you are to become an alcoholic. The Distilled Spirits Council denies Zailckas' accusations and told 20/20 underage drinking is at historic lows. But that's the industry talking. The CDC says any decrease is insignificant. And for the Spongebob set ` kids like 13-year-old Xander Tropp ` getting alcohol has never been easier. No more persuading strangers outside a liquor store to make them buy for you. Here's $20. You can keep the change. It's totally fine. Just jump on eBay. Xander showed us how easy it is. Two out of three vendors he tried sold him hard liquor for home delivery without any proof of age. To keep things legal, our producer actually paid for the bottles. All I had to do was type in vodka on the search bar, click one button and it can send it to my house. This violates their terms of use, but some individual sellers have found a loophole by listing the booze bottles as collectables. Sure enough, weeks later, a box full of alcohol arrived at Xander's front door. Bottle number two. In response to what we found, eBay sent word today that they're taking new steps to protect minors, removing all listings of beer and spirits from the site. After various alcohol-related arrests, probation and, for 18-year-old Danielle, a stint in jail, these kids say they've learned their lesson the hard way. I stopped drinking cos I wanna make something of myself. I have three little sisters, and I wanna set a good example for them. You do a lot of things that you'll end up regretting, and you may end up where you never thought you would end up. Next up on 20/20 ` we go to party town Las Vegas, where we find the cure for the night before. This is hangover heaven. COUNTRY MUSIC Inside, a hangover treatment like you've never seen. No puking on the bus, young man. > An alluring nurse with a smile and a syringe. For a mere $200 apiece, our pooped partiers are pumped up with a cocktail of fluids to combat dehydration, vitamins anti-nausea medication and anti-inflammatories to help with those aches and pains. Tonight on 20/20 ` a Welcome back. Well, most of us have been there ` the morning after the big night before. Well, in Vegas they think they've come up with the perfect cure. Welcome to Hangover Heaven. MEN: One, two, three, go! Welcome to Tim Kelly's Vegas bachelor party. Yes, you are invited. It's Saturday night. Tim and his buddies from San Francisco have made this Vegas home look a lot like a set for a real-life hangover movie. There's booze a-plenty, and it's flowing freely. Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! But of course we know how this sordid story will end come Sunday morning. How bad do you feel this morning? We don't feel great. We don't feel great. It's, uh... On a scale of one to 10? Zero. These hung-over gents could turn to the old standbys ` you know, Alka-Seltzer, painkillers, lots of water, coffee, greasy food, and, of course, the hair of the dog that bit you. UPBEAT MUSIC But remember, this is Vegas, baby. Tim and his posse have hit on a new way to beat the odds and their hangovers, rolling down the famed strip in what used to be a tour bus for a gospel group. It now has a different calling ` not saving souls, but resurrecting bodies in a world of hurt. This is Hangover Heaven. UPBEAT MUSIC Inside, a hangover treatment like you've never seen ` WOMAN: No puking on the bus, young man. an alluring nurse with a smile and a syringe. For a mere $200 a-piece, our pooped partiers are pumped up with a cocktail of fluids to combat dehydration, vitamins, anti-nausea medication, and anti-inflammatories to help with those aches and pains. Put an IV in. I treated myself with some of the medications once. Astonished at how quickly the hangover just melted away. The hangover bus is the brainchild of Dr Jason Burke ` an anaesthesiologist. About 90% or 95% of people have their hangover go from a score of probably eight or nine out of 10 to zero or one. The hangover bus is just the latest and maybe most extreme twist in man's never-ending search for a way to ease the agony from indulging too much. But there's one problem with all of these professed 'remedies'. Is there a cure for a hangover? Is there a cure for a hangover? Right now there is not. Besides not drinking. Dr Crystal Lisdol is a neurologist at the University of Wisconsin. She studies hangovers. Lisdol says all these supposed cures do nothing more than help provide temporary relief from the symptoms of a hangover. And just because you treat the symptoms of a hangover doesn't mean you actually got rid of the toxins or reduce the damage to the brain and to the rest of the organs. To get to the root cause of a hangover, you have to understand what happens to the body when you pump it full of booze. When the alcohol goes down the hatch, it eventually finds its way to your liver, where it converts into nasty substances called metabolites. These metabolites are much more toxic to the body than alcohol itself. It can make you feel tired, it actually can make you vomit, it can give you a headache, all of these things that people call a hangover. The only way to get rid of those metabolites is to wait ` wait for your body to clear them out of your system. There really is no magic pill that you can take? There really is no magic pill that you can take? There is no magic pill right now. Sorry. (LAUGHS) But of course that doesn't stop companies from trotting out a bewildering array of purported hangover cures. Take two pills of Alcohol X in the morning, and the effects of your hangover will supposedly go away. It does have a couple of chemicals in here that may help speed the metabolism of alcohol. But there's zero scientific studies really showing that this particular blend helps. The company stands by its claims, saying it relies on positive feedback from customers. The good doctor says slightly more promising is this anti-hangover elixir called Mercy, touted by, of all people, actress and lifestyle maven Gwyneth Paltrow. So this Mercy is not a bad idea, because it has these antioxidants that basically remove some of the toxic substances from your body, which is good. It's not clear how effective it is. UPBEAT MUSIC So, what about our friends in Las Vegas on that hangover bus? After their 45-minute treatment, our bachelor party boys claim they feel as good as new. It was weird. I never would have thought to do this before, but I feel a lot better. Dr Lisdol is sceptical about the sudden recovery. It's not a bad idea to rehydrate. Do you have to pay someone to` to do that? Um, that amount of money? Probably not. You can just as easily drink a lot of water, take an aspirin, eat a banana. You know a lot of doctors say the only way to cure a hangover is time and what you're doing is just nonsense. and what you're doing is just nonsense. I definitely disagree with them. For the record, Dr Burke's hangover bus isn't hurting for patients. It was booked all summer. Apparently plenty of drinkers are ready to make this gamble even though there really is only one sure-fire scientific way to avoid the hangover. Keep it about one drink an hour. About three drinks maximum for an entire episode, and then you really will prevent hangovers. ALL: Yeah! Yep, that's some good advice. Maybe just don't drink so much. If you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website... You can also email us... Or go to our Facebook page... and let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Well, thanks for all your feedback over the past week. We're interested in your stories as always, so keep those ideas coming in.