Mystery Hovers Over Dad Who Took Daughter
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.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please call the Boston Police or District D-4 detectives at (617) 343-4683. 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.