Rocco ParascandolaMatthew Chayes NEW YORK -- The search for J. Clarke Rockefeller and his 7-year-old daughter hit one dead end after another yesterday, with Long Island authorities unable to find the eccentric millionaire.
Rockefeller, 48, fled Boston after he abducted his daughter, police said. Boston police have found the sport utility vehicle in which the suspect spirited away his daughter, Reigh, in a brazen kidnapping Sunday afternoon while Rockefeller was visiting the girl in the presence of a social worker. The car's driver, police said, was being interviewed.
Rockefeller, a mathematician who sometimes pretends he is related to the moneyed Rockefeller clan - despite denials from the fabled family - is estranged from his wife, Sandra Boss, and the couple is divorcing, police said. He has custodial visits with Reigh that are supervised by a social worker.
Rockefeller and Reigh were last seen near Grand Central Terminal Sunday night after being dropped off in another car. The driver of that car, a female friend, has told authorities she was unaware of the kidnapping, police sources said, but said that Rockefeller did suggest to her they were going on a long cruise.
Authorities in various island getaways, such as Bermuda, have been asked to watch for the two, sources said.
Rockefeller, 48, owns a 72-foot-long boat, "Serenity," and had docked it somewhere on Long Island, authorities believe. There are 380 vessels named "Serenity" in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, the New York Police Department said. At least one such boat was located on Long Island yesterday, near Sag Harbor, police sources said, but it was not the one.
"Everyone knows what this guy looks like, what she looks like, but we're assuming he's got a lot of money with him," said one law enforcement source. "If he's got money with him, he's got a lot of ways he can go."
Rockefeller, if caught, will be charged with custodial kidnapping, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the SUV. He allegedly shoved the social worker, grabbed Reigh and hopped into the SUV, which dragged the social worker a short distance.
Reigh Storrow Boss lives with her mother, Sandra Boss, in London, where Boss works as a partner in global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Co. She could not be reached for comment.