The ?Rockefeller? Case

Fugitive father is arrested in Baltimore; daughter is safe
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August 2, 2008 07:01 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, and Ryan Kost, Globe Correspondent

Clark Rockefeller, the mystery man who allegedly kidnapped his daughter, Reigh Storrow Mills Boss, on a Boston street, has been arrested in Baltimore, law enforcement authorities announced this evening.

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Photograph of Clark Rockefeller and Reigh Storrow Boss from Boston Police Department

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said that Rockefeller was arrested at 3:25 p.m. today after a tip from a concerned citizen led the FBI to an apartment in the Mount Vernon section of Baltimore.

The 7-year-old girl was found unharmed and was happy to see the arresting officers, Davis said. Officials said her mother, Sandra Boss, was on her way to Baltimore to reunite with her child.

Investigators had learned that Rockefeller was keeping a boat in a nearby marina and used a ruse to lure him out of his apartment, Davis said. Rockefeller was told that his 26-foot catamaran was taking on water. He was arrested without incident by Baltimore police and FBI agents, Davis said, and the girl was found alone in the Ploy Street apartment shortly thereafter.

Davis said Rockefeller was in FBI custody in Baltimore, facing charges of felony custodial kidnapping, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities continue to try to determine his real identity.

Boss collapsed with joy into Deputy Superintendent Tom Lee's arms when she learned her daughter had been found safely, Lee said.

"This is just a really wonderful feeling," said FBI Special Agent Noreen Gleason, who worked on the investigation.

Rockefeller, 48, allegedly kidnapped his daughter on Sunday afternoon from Marlborough Street in Boston's Back Bay section.

Police mounted a manhunt for Rockefeller, fielding tips that he was in places as diverse as Smyrna, Del.; Port Jefferson, N.Y.; and the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. None of the sightings were confirmed. His ex-wife this week made an extraordinary public appeal for him to return their daughter.

The Globe reported today that Boss, who divorced Rockefeller in December, accused him of lying about being a member of the famed Rockefeller family and asked for sole custody of their daughter because she believed he was a fraud, according to two sources familiar with the case.

Police have said the alleged abduction appeared to be the result of Rockefeller's dissatisfaction with the divorce and custody settlement.

Rockefeller presented himself as a man who could be nothing other than a bona fide Rockefeller. But the Rockefeller family has said he is not one of their relatives. And police have said they were searching for any kind of documentation, including a Social Security number or birth certificate, that would give them an idea about who Rockefeller really is.

Davis thanked the FBI and a host of other law enforcement agencies for their help in the investigation.

Gleason, the FBI agent, said that investigators aren't clear what Rockefeller's plans were.

When the little girl was approached by agents in the apartment, Gleason said, "Her first words were -- she was very happy to see very nice people."

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