Mother issues public appeal for daughter's return

By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff

The mother of the 7-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped earlier this week issued a public appeal today, asking her husband to bring their daughter back.

"I ask you now, please, please bring 'Snooks' back," Sandra Boss said in the appeal to Clark Rockefeller, referring to the nickname for their daughter, Reigh Storrow Mills Boss. "There has to be a better way for us to solve our differences than this way."

In the statement posted in both video and in text on the Boston Police Department website, she also told her husband that "although many things have changed, you will always be Reigh's father and I will be Reigh's mother."

"And Reigh, honey," the mother added, "I love you and miss you so much. And remember, you're always a princess." Sandra Boss, 41, is a senior partner based in London for McKinsey & Co.

The father and daughter have not been seen since Sunday night at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

Earlier that day, Rockefeller, 48, allegedly kidnapped his daughter, grabbing her on Marlborough Street and placing her inside a black sport utility vehicle. The driver of the SUV, Darryl Hopkins, took them to another part of the city where they met another driver, Aileen Ang, who took them to New York. Both Hopkins and Ang have told investigators they did not know they were helping in a kidnapping and neither has been arrested, police have said.

Rockefeller does not have a driver's license, according to police, who have been unable to find his birth certificate or Social Security number. He has been described by friends as a brilliant physicist who adored his daughter. Others have described him as a duplicitous, eccentric man who allowed people to believe he came from the wealthy Rockefeller family.

A spokesman for the family of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the son of the Standard Oil billionaire, has denied any connection to Clark Rockefeller.

Earlier today, the FBI warned that Rockefeller may have cut short his daughter's blonde hair so she looks more like a boy in an effort to avoid capture on custodial kidnapping charges.

Rockefeller may have dyed his own thinning hair an orangey blonde to disguise his appearance. He may also be trying to use a passport in the name of Michael Brown, one of at least four aliases police said he has used.

Boston police said Wednesday that they are looking for anyone who knew Rockefeller before the early 1990s as they continued to field scores of unconfirmed tips about where he may have taken his daughter.

"They're having a hard time authenticating his identity," said Elaine Driscoll, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department.

Police have been flooded with reports of sightings of Rockefeller and Reigh, who is four feet tall, wears glasses, and has a British accent. Tipsters have included psychics and people who said they have had dreams about where the father and daughter may be.

None of the reports has been verified, Driscoll said. Police initially believed that Rockefeller planned to flee on a 72-foot yacht with his daughter to Bermuda or Peru, but investigators have been unable to learn if he even purchased a boat. A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said that investigators had confirmed that Rockefeller recently bought gold with cash.

Friends have defended Rockefeller as a doting father who was almost a full-time parent to Reigh, while her mother worked.

"He's a caring, decent, charitable individual," said Sandy Schuele, a money manager who became friends with Rockefeller when they both lived in Cornish, N.H. "He's a wonderful father and is primarily responsible for raising his daughter."

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email