'Return To Life': How some children have memories of reincarnation

S.O.T.T: It's not unusual for little boys to have vivid imaginations, but Ryan's stories were truly legendary. His mother Cyndi said it all began with horrible nightmares when he was 4 years old. Then when he was 5 years old, he confided in her one evening before bed.

"He said mom, I have something I need to tell you," she told TODAY. "I used to be somebody else."

The preschooler would then talk about "going home" to Hollywood, and would cry for his mother to take him there. His mother said he would tell stories about meeting stars like Rita Hayworth, traveling overseas on lavish vacations, dancing on Broadway, and working for an agency where people would change their names.

After weeks of research, a film archivist combing through original production materials for the movie Night After Night was able to confirm who he was. His name, Marty Martyn, a former movie extra who later became a powerful Hollywood agent and died in 1964. After digging through old records— almost none of them available on the internet, and tracking down Martyn's own daughter, Tucker was able to confirm 55 details Ryan gave about his life. It turns out Martyn wasn't just a movie extra. Just as Ryan said, he had also danced on Broadway, traveled overseas to Paris, and worked at an agency where stage names were often created for new clients.

Tucker also discovered Ryan's claim that he lived on the street with the word "rock" in it was nearly spot on— Martyn lived at 825 North Roxbury Dr. in Beverly Hills.

Tucker was also able to confirm other obscure facts that Ryan gave— how many children Martyn had, how many times he was married, even how many sisters he had. While Martyn's own daughter grew up thinking her father had just one sister— Tucker was able to confirm he actually had two, again, just as Ryan claimed.

Even with Ryan's case, there was one fact the detailed obsessed scientist thought the little boy had wrong.

"He said he didn't see why God would let you get to be 61 and then make you come back as a baby," Tucker said.

That statement seemed to be incorrect because Martyn's death certificate listed his age as 59 years old when he died. But as Tucker dug deeper, he was able to uncover census records showing Martyn was In fact born in 1903 and not 1905, meaning Ryan's statement — not his official death certificate— was indeed correct! Read more>>>...