Mystery Hovers Over Dad Who Took Daughter

Divorced Man On Run With 7-Year-Old Used Many Aliases And Moved In Boston's Wealthy Circles

(CBS/AP)  A man accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter used a famous last name, appeared to be wealthy and had a bitter divorce, but for the most part remained a mystery to investigators who were frantically trying to find them Tuesday.

Clark Rockefeller, 48, was last seen at New York City's Grand Central Terminal on Sunday night, hours after he allegedly grabbed his daughter Reigh during a supervised visit in Boston, jumped into a black SUV driven by someone else and fled.

According to CBS station WBZ, the woman who claims she drove the divorced father and his kidnapped daughter from Boston to New York City says she had no idea she was taking part in the plot.

Aileen Ang, 30, of Ipswich, told WBZ Radio that Rockefeller, who is a friend, called her Sunday looking for a ride to New York City, because he wanted to see a new boat he had just purchased. She met them at the Boston Sailing Center and then drove them to Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan for $500.

Meanwhile, police in Delaware are looking into a claim that a state worker saw Rockefeller and his daughter at a car dealership, WBZ reports.

Authorities said they believe he may be trying to flee to Bermuda or Peru on a recently-purchased 72-foot yacht called "Serenity" he docked on Long Island, N.Y. Bermuda's police and maritime authorities said Tuesday evening there was no indication that Rockefeller's yacht had entered or neared the British enclave's territorial waters.

But locating the boat is trickier than it sounds, reports CBS News correspondent Meg Oliver. There are 380 vessels that go by the name "Serenity."

One woman told CBS Station WCBS-TV about how investigators surrounded and boarded her catamaran that carried the name.

"Anything that was close was worth looking into, especially when there's a missing child," she told WCBS. "Everybody wants to leave no stone unturned."

Boston police found the sport utility vehicle allegedly used in the kidnapping and were questioning the driver Tuesday.

Boston Police Superintendent Bruce Holloway told CBS' The Early Show the driver did drop off Clark and Reigh in downtown Boston. But Holloway also characterized the driver as an "unwilling participant in the investigation."

Holloway added that police are not closer to figuring out where the little girl and her father are headed.

Also late yesterday, Boston Police released photos of two dresses they say Clark Rockefeller purchased for his daughter and urged people to be on the alert.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please call the Boston Police or District D-4 detectives at [phone]. Individuals wishing to report information anonymously may do so by calling CrimeStoppers at (800) 494-TIPS or texting "TIPS" to CRIME (27463).

The Mystery Man

Rockefeller used at least four known aliases and told people he met different stories about his background. Some acquaintances knew him as a physicist, some as a mathematician and others were told he was involved in financial services.

A Boston police official who asked not to be named said authorities still aren't sure what Rockefeller did for work and aren't sure if he has a valid Social Security number.

Rockefeller's wife, Sandra Boss, was so concerned about her former husband's name changes that she asked a judge to restrict his access to their daughter, according to the police source.

"She was aware of the aliases. That's one of the reasons for the supervised visits," said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the case.

Rockefeller moved in wealthy circles in Boston. He was a director at Boston's exclusive Algonquin Club, but resigned about three months ago, said club manager Lassaad Riahi.

Rockefeller's visit with his daughter Sunday in Boston was the first time he had seen the girl known as "Snooks" since a new visitation order was approved several months ago. The girl lives in London with her mother, a senior partner in the London office of the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

Boss married Rockefeller on Nantucket in 1995 and filed for divorce in Suffolk Probate and Family Court in Boston in January 2007. The final decree was issued in December, and the records were sealed, at the request of both.

During their 12-year marriage, the couple lived a lavish lifestyle. They owned a brownstone in Boston's tony Beacon Hill near former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and a mansion in Cornish, N.H., a summer resort favored by artists and writers.

One thing he was not (though he claimed to be) was a relative of the famous John D. Rockefeller.

"Because the family is a close-knit group and has their own archives and historian, checking the authenticity of a real Rockefeller versus someone who isn't, is really an easy thing to do," said Rockefeller Family Spokesman Fraser Seitel told CBS News.

Robert Dean, the inn keeper at the Juniper Hill Inn in Cornish, said many people did not believe Rockefeller was from the famed family. Rockefeller fed the speculation.

"People talked about it at dinner parties," said Dean, an acquaintance of Rockefeller's. "No one knew what he did."

In 2004, Rockefeller offered the town of Cornish $110,000 so it could build a new police office if the town would sell him a 200-year-old vacant church for $1. The town accepted.

The Rev. Brian Marsh, pastor of the Trinity Anglican Church, said Rockefeller never disclosed his profession, but alluded to being involved in the sciences.

"He was very private about his personal life," Marsh said.

Rockefeller was known for tooling around the rural town on a Segway scooter.

"We all kind of commented that it wouldn't operate too well on dirt roads," said John Hammond, chairman of the town's Board of Selectmen.

Alma Gilbert-Smith, who wrote a book about Cornish homes featuring Rockefeller's place - known as the Doveridge mansion - said Rockefeller warned her not to use photos of the home in her book.

"He said he was doing some very important hush-hush work for the Pentagon and needed to keep his residence private," said Gilbert-Smith, who was outbid by Rockefeller when she tried to buy the house.

Rockefeller began renovation work on the house, and parked old, empty police cruisers outside its gates and put up signs that read "Trespassers will be prosecuted" and "Armed guards on premises," Gilbert-Smith said.

"He put a lot of energy and money into this fortress-like home," she said.

[libra127]

She was married to the guy for over 12 years and has no idea what he does for a living?

Posted by tuckerndfw at 01:02 AM : Jul 31, 2008

Nowhere does it say that she didn''t know what he did for a living during their marriage. As usual, you are just making things up to suit your prejudices.

CBSnews says:

"Rockefeller used at least four known aliases and told people he met different stories about his background. Some acquaintances knew him as a physicist, some as a mathematician and others were told he was involved in financial services.

"A Boston police official who asked not to be named said authorities still aren''t sure what Rockefeller did for work and aren''t sure if he has a valid Social Security number. "

The problem is obviously with the lying, kidnapper (ex)husband in this case. Quit blaming the (ex)wife, about whom you have almost no information.

[Netterz]

Another case that has already been tried and convicted by the media. Same as it was with the little Ramsey girl & her parents, and the little girl from Great Britian and her parents. The media sparks a world wide manhunt for this man, there are no indications that he is dangerous, or any threat at all to the child, he has aliases, but we have no idea why. There divorce was ''sealed at both parties request'' So the mother obviously wanted her privacy, until something doesnt go her way. For all we know, this woman might have been abusing the child in some way, and this s the only way that the father feels he can protect her, because the court system once again, favored the mother, as usual. I know several men who want to, and make far better parents than the woman in relationships, but have to fight till they have nothing left to get custody, because of the favoratisim. Note* I am a female. I have went to court and testified from my male friends in situations where it was better for the child to be with the dad. The court system is terribly biased, and does little checking to see who the fit parent is.

[nobdehom]

Hello people ...if my daughters father came and kidnapped her there would be hell to pay....there are reasons they don''t have custody....END OF STORY!

[wbwilhite]

Unless the father is known to be psychotic and dangerous, I really don''t think this is a problem. Family messes are best left alone. Too many times, the mother gets full custody and the father gets supervised visits if any. The society itself has become mentally ill. How can it judge anyone or anything when its judgement has become impaired? Tippy toe away people. Even the cops say a family feud is a dreaded mess.

[mandalay-bay]

How is it possible to kidnap your own child? Fathers have no rights these days....

[iamchickaddd]

The article says the ex-wife was aware of his aliases and that was one of the reasons she asked for supervised visits. I don''t understand why people are so quick to judge the mother. Who knows when she became aware of this man''s secrecy and whatever else. They divorced for a reason...it takes two but it certainly sounds like she''s a lot more stable than he is. I feel sorry for the little girl. I hope she''s safe and found soon and brought back to live with her mom in a stable environment.

[watso28me]

What is going on here is horrible. It''s horrible that this kind of action is a on going trend. We read all the time about these military men coming home and killing their spouse. There is always babies and children involved in all these acts. Now I''m not condoning what these men have done and they will have to pay for their crimes. But I do see a breakdown in our system to protect both men and women. The rules of divorce are the same rules we had put aside before woman''s rights were an issue. Now woman are in the work force and have their own pull and in these cases i keep reading about they make the same or more. Which when this goes to court these womans rights with the children will be protected at all cost and these men will make less and have no contact with their children now think these military men have been over seas and already have a grasp on the family living with out them and I''m sure with out a doubt that there is no greater pain and this man here, his daughter I''m sure was his entire life and she was snatched from him and he then was treated as a common criminal. He had no time to wait for the Judicial system to see there is a major problem mounting in our society on these grounds today. We need to look at how the law is written in divorce to be equal. More marriage''s today end cause women can use the law to hurt their spouse. I have no answer for the cure. But we need to focus on this thought.

[mandalay-bay]

When was the last time you ever heard of ANY black father trying to get custody of his kid???? LOL, those dead beats RUN from parental responsibility!!!!

Posted by U2canB1

Wow. That was pretty racist of you. Im guessing you are one of those people who are first in line to call Obama a racist, meanwhile you make comments like the above.

hmmmm.........

[flreason]

geewilli:

How do you know that she was aware of the aliases when they were married? Isn''t it just as possible that she found out later, and that may have been a factor in the divorce. You don''t know, and neither does anyone else. What we do know is that the mother is an executive, while the father has no known source of income. This is not a case of a gold-digger wife. But it is certainly a case of a man whose identity is in question.

[tammy3455]

There have go to be many, many details about this situation that we will probably never know. I''m certain there''s much more to the "supervised visitation" than only his ex''s concern over his aliases. The bottom line is that the little girl legally belongs with her mother and once she is returned safely there (which I pay happens and soon), this phycho man should never be allowed to see her again. There are legal avenues he could have taken and obviously he has the money to do so. He''s either a total idiot or a mental case....or both.

[geewilli]

I also question the ex-wife, she willingly married this man knowing that he had a shady past and only when a child is brought into this world and she divorces him is she "concerned" about his name changes. She lived this false life with him and apparently enjoyed the luxories that went with it. I feel sorry for this little girl and I hope that the parents for whatever reason it has come to this will REMEMBER that she is now a pawn in the game.

[morganbarber]

So when he was providing his wife with plenty of wealth, it was OK for him to be a con man. As long as all her needs were being met. Now that he has disapppeared with their daughter and not likely to be found, being a con man is a bad thing. I suspect that the mother, now minus a daughter and an income, will get a postcard soon enough, explaining that the wagon has been fixed.

[soul-searchr]

Supervised visits and a sealed court file - there''s a lot more going on here than we know.

[u2canb1]

Oh and another thing. Why is it that CBS is the only major news outfit devoting all this attention to this story? Perhaps the others have looked at it and figured that hunting the guy down wsn''''t right.
I wonder if there are women malcontents peddling this story at CBS
Posted by summarex

Oh sure, CBS has no control over biased reporting...

[summarex]

Oh and another thing. Why is it that CBS is the only major news outfit devoting all this attention to this story? Perhaps the others have looked at it and figured that hunting the guy down wsn''t right.

I wonder if there are women malcontents peddling this story at CBS

[u2canb1]

violence....really? remember the bonet-ramsey case the parents there were guilty before all the facts were out also.......
Posted by mike-avelli

What are you talking about, this is completely different! The man kidnapped the kid in broad daylight in front of witnesses, and assaulted the case worker in the process.

[u2canb1]

If the kid was from poor black parents and dad took her away the only comment you people would make would be "Oh, well..."
Posted by kbut1945

When was the last time you ever heard of ANY black father trying to get custody of his kid???? LOL, those dead beats RUN from parental responsibility!!!!

[u2canb1]

If this situation was reversed,
and it was the mother who took the child
the mother would be protected by Social Services.
Posted by SpinLiberal

That is absolutely UNTRUE. If the mother was court ordered to have only supervised visits, and kidnapped the child from the legal custodial parent, SHE WOULD be in the same situation as the father: a wanted fugitive.

[maxipriest50]

I really don''t think this dad will hurt his daughter. He just afraid of loosing her to his ex-wife. I truly believe he loves his daughter so much this is why he took the chance to take her. He wants to be with her. He is not crazy, he knows exactly what he is doing but not prepared to face the consequence. Lets pray for both their safety and not pass any judgement. We don''t know what''s going thru his mind right now. Some dads, when it comes their little girls you can''t tell them nothing. They''ll do anything to protect them from this wicked world even if it means sacrificing their own life. I know! my dad has 6 girls.

[zykracosmos]

I am amazed that no one is asking the number one question... How does a guy who seems to be invisible with aliases and questionable social security number have so much money? He obviously has access to real money independently from his wife. If he were in business, there would be tracks everywhere. He may be a spy from another country (our spies don''t have that kind of cash), or the offspring of a foreign criminal, who benefits from his family''s fortune, but doesn''t want to risk going by the family''s name. That is the most likely scenario if you ask me. Judging ethnicity from a photograph can be tricky, but I''d bet East European descent- anywhere from Greece to Ukraine and everywhere in between. Find out where he accesses his real money from and follow the trail.