Three faces -- and a dark mystery

By Globe Staff

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has issued a poster with pictures of Clark Rockefeller, Christian Gerhartsreiter, and Chris Chichester, as it seeks the public's help in finding out more about the 1985 disappearance of John and Linda Sohus of San Marino, Calif.

The sheriff's office said Monday that its investigators had confirmed that Rockefeller's true identity is Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, 47, a German native who came to the United States as a student in the late 1970s, and that Gerhartsreiter used the alias Chris Chichester in San Marino.

The "Information Wanted" poster issued Tuesday shows pictures of Gerhartsreiter from a 1978 Immigration and Naturalization Service photo, a picture of Clark Rockefeller from his recent arraignment, and a picture of Chris Chichester, who disappeared before investigators could question him in the Sohus case.

"The male depicted in this bulletin was a tenant in the Sohus residence, at the time of their disappearance," the poster said. "Anyone with information regarding this case or the male in the bulletin are urged to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau Detectives."

The LA authorities have said Gerhartsreiter is a “person of interest,” in the Sohus case. Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said homicide detectives plan to try to question Rockefeller again in Boston, where he's currently being held. He turned away two LA detectives last week.

Boston investigators said early this week that they have concluded Rockefeller is not the man's real name, but have not determined that Gerhartsreiter is his real identity.

Rockefeller is charged with kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter in Boston July 27. He was arrested six days later in Baltimore and his daughter was found safe. While the manhunt was dramatic, the underlying case has since been eclipsed by questions about Rockefeller's identity -- and his possible links to the Sohus case.

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