Local News

BOSTON (WBZ) ― A divorced father who allegedly kidnapped his 7-year-old daughter during a supervised visit in Boston over the weekend may be trying to take off from Long Island on a boat, according to police.
 
Boston police said Tuesday they had no new information on the whereabouts of Clark Rockefeller, 48, or his daughter, Reigh Boss.

The New York Police Department said they were last seen at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan. Investigators believe it's part of an elaborate plan that he had been working on for months to escape with his daughter on a 72-foot yacht named "Serenity," possibly to Bermuda.

An Amber Alert was issued Sunday for the girl in Massachusetts but was canceled Monday after police received reports that he was spotted in New York City.

New York police issued a Missing Child Alert which is one step below an Amber Alert.  New York does not issue Amber Alerts in custodial kidnappings if the parent is the person who took the child. 

The NYPD Harbor Patrol, the Coast Guard and the FBI searched for the Rockefellers and their yacht Monday in the waters and marinas surrounding New York and Long Island. Police say it's been difficult because there are several hundred boats with the same name in the area.

Boston police said Rockefeller grabbed the girl and fled in an SUV during a visit supervised by a social worker on Sunday afternoon. As Rockefeller, his daughter and the social worker walked near the Boston Public Garden, a black SUV with a Red Sox license plate and stickers pulled up to the three. Police said Rockefeller shoved the social worker and pulled his daughter into the vehicle which may have been a Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon or Denali. Police believe the SUV is still in the Boston area.

The social worker attempted to grab the door, was dragged a short distance and was later treated for minor injuries, police said.

New York police said the father and daughter later switched cars to a vehicle of a friend, who was unaware of how the girl was picked up, and that second car went to New York.

Boston police issued an arrest warrant for Rockefeller on charges of custodial kidnapping, assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, the SUV.

Reigh, whose legal name is Reigh Storrow Boss, lives with her mother, Sandra Boss, who works in London as a partner in global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Co. Boss also is on the board of The Mount, Edith Wharton's estate. She is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School and has worked with politicians such as New York's Mayor Bloomberg in governmental financial consulting, according to her company profile.

Fraser Seitel, a spokesman for the descendants of John D. Rockefeller Sr., said he could say with certainty that Clark Rockefeller was not descended from that side of the family that made billions of dollars with Standard Oil and whose name is synonymous with extraordinary wealth. He said that family archives also show no indication that the fugitive was descended from William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller Sr.'s only sibling.

The Valley News of Lebanon, N.H., reported in a 2004 article about Rockefeller's $110,000 donation to the town of Cornish, N.H., where he and Boss were part-time residents, that he declined to comment on a possible Rockefeller family relationship.

Clark Rockefeller is a former director of Boston's exclusive Algonquin Club, but resigned from the club three months ago, the club's manager said Monday. Police said Rockefeller met his daughter and the social worker at the club on Sunday.

Manager Lassaad Riahi said that he has known Rockefeller for the several years he was a member.

"What I do know is he's a gentleman. He's a kind man. Polite. Very, very intelligent," Riahi said. "I am very shocked."

Clark Rockefeller is white, 5-feet-6 inches tall, and about 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing khaki pants and a blue Izod shirt. He goes by several aliases, including J.P. Clark Rockefeller and James Frederick Clark Rockefeller.

His last known address is 73 Beacon Street in Boston.

Reigh is white with blond hair and blue eyes. She is about 4-feet tall, weighs 50 pounds and speaks with a British accent. She goes by the nickname "Snooks." She was last seen wearing a pink and white sun dress, with red shoes and glasses.

Boss and Rockefeller finalized their divorce last December.  Rockefeller was only allowed supervised visits with Reigh, which is unusual for a biological parent, according to CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom.

"That indicates a judge is concerned about him being alone with her," she told The Early Show Tuesday.

Bloom said that if Rockefeller is captured in Bermuda or the Caribbean, he could be extradited back to the United States.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)