After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive
In After Etan, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research—including access to the personal files of the Patz family—to reveal, for the first time, the entire dramatic tale of Etan's disappearance: "A masterful combination of deep human interest and detailed criminal investigation into a parent's worst nightmare" (Kirkus Reviews, Starred).On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he had ever walked the two short blocks on his own.But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.Thirty years later, in Etan's honor, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery.It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family, as well as the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who, to this day, continue to seek justice for Etan.
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After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive
In After Etan, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research—including access to the personal files of the Patz family—to reveal, for the first time, the entire dramatic tale of Etan's disappearance: "A masterful combination of deep human interest and detailed criminal investigation into a parent's worst nightmare" (Kirkus Reviews, Starred).On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he had ever walked the two short blocks on his own.But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.Thirty years later, in Etan's honor, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery.It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family, as well as the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who, to this day, continue to seek justice for Etan.
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After Etan: The Missing Child Case that Held America Captive
In After Etan, author Lisa Cohen draws on hundreds of interviews and nearly twenty years of research—including access to the personal files of the Patz family—to reveal, for the first time, the entire dramatic tale of Etan's disappearance: "A masterful combination of deep human interest and detailed criminal investigation into a parent's worst nightmare" (Kirkus Reviews, Starred).On the morning of May 25, 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz left his apartment to go to his school bus stop. It was the first time he had ever walked the two short blocks on his own.But he never made it to school that day. He vanished somewhere between his home and the bus stop, and was never seen again.The search for Etan quickly consumed the downtown Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. Soon afterward, "Missing" posters with Etan's smiling face blanketed the city, followed by media coverage that turned Etan's disappearance into a national story-one that would change our cultural landscape forever.Thirty years later, in Etan's honor, May 25 is recognized as National Missing Children's Day. But despite the overwhelming publicity his case received, the public knows only a fraction of what happened. That's because the story of Etan Patz is more than a heartbreaking mystery.It is also the story of the men, women, and children who were touched by his life in the months and years after he vanished. It's the story of the agonies and triumphs of the Patz family, as well as the story of the extraordinary twists and turns of federal prosecutor Stuart GraBois's relentless pursuit of his prime suspect. From GraBois's creative "outside the box" tactics, to the veteran cop who made his first pedophile bust on a dark Times Square rooftop, to the FBI rookie who cut her teeth chasing the case through the dark recesses of a child molester's mind, this is the story of all the heroic investigators who, to this day, continue to seek justice for Etan.
Lisa R. Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning television newsmagazine producer, documentary filmmaker, and journalism professor with over twenty years of network news experience at both ABC and CBS News. She has been covering the Etan Patz story for over two decades, beginning with the segments on the case she produced for 60 Minutes and PrimeTime Live. She lives in New York with her family. After Etan is her first book.
Table of Contents
Prologue ix
1 May 25, 1979 1
2 Twenty-four Hours and Counting 10
3 The Occupation 22
4 A Year for the Books 39
5 The Bigger Picture 57
6 The Devil in the Drainpipe 74
7 Up on the Roof 88
8 New Life 97
9 Reversing the Odds 114
10 No Stone Unturned 123
11 "Welcome Home 136
12 Hard Evidence 152
13 Help from All Over 166
14 90 Proof 179
15 "Just Watch Me" 188
16 More Lost Boys 199
17 "I Told You So" 206
18 On the Record 216
19 Done Deal 227
20 Another Door Opens 244
21 Confidential Witness 255
22 Into the Hole 264
23 Take Two 274
24 Double Play 283
25 Debrief 296
26 Nothing to Lose 306
27 Prime Suspect 319
28 Civil Action 332
29 The True Story 349
Coda 365
Postscript: After After Etan 369
Acknowledgments 389
Index 391
What People are Saying About This
Nicholas Pileggi
In the first-ever book on this celebrated case, Lisa Cohen finally gives us the answers behind the most vexing child kidnapping since the Lindbergh Baby. It's a harrowing portrait of a family's grief and an engrossing detective story. A powerful lesson in humanity tested and triumphant.
John Walsh
When our son, Adam, was abducted in 1981, my wife, Revé, and I felt no one could really understand what we were going through. Then we met Julie and Stan Patz and found that we were members of a horrible but exclusive club. Their courage inspired us then and inspires us now. The worst thing for searching parents is the not knowing. Reading 'After Etan,' I relived that terrible time and it increased my admiration for Julie and Stan even more. And it made me even more grateful for dedicated public servants like the incredible prosecutor who ultimately produced some measure of justice for Etan. Every American needs to know Etan's story.
Liz Smith
This powerful work plunged me back in time to a moment that haunts me to this day. Then step by compelling step it walked me thirty years forward, filling in the mysterious gaps of this celebrated case. Finally the book left me, in the present, cheering on its heroes. For those who will never forget Etan's smiling face, the book answers many questions. For the rest of you, welcome to an ongoing page-turner so full of plot twists, it often reads like a fictional thriller. Except it's all true. This is former "60 Minutes" producer Lisa Cohen's first book, but hopefully not her last.
