David in 1974 (left) and age progression of David (right)
Real Name: David Shipenburg
Case: Lost Son
Location: New York
Date: May 1974
Case
Details: Marianne Malky had a son named David Shipenburg whom was abducted by his father, Steve Shipenburg in May of 1974. Steve and Marianne had divorced in December of 1973, and she received full custody, while Steve received visitation rights. While she was in a New Jersey hospital, Marianne left David with her sister when in May his father Steve took him to New York for a routine visit. That night, Steve called Marianne and told her that she would never see David again. When she was released from the hospital, she went to New York to find David but to no avail. However, a month later, David called Marianne and he was apparently crying; she told him that she would find him.
Marianne Malky
She then tracked down what she believed was Steve's address, and staked out the building until he pulled out with David in the back seat. She started running after the car and caught up with it at a red light and began beating at the glass with her purse in an attempt to get her son. However, the light turned green and they drove away; it was the last time she ever saw her son and ex-husband. She has been searching for him for over twenty-five years and in her search has met with hundreds of parents who have had their children kidnapped by their former spouses. In 1990, she started an organization named Voice For The Children, helping families deal with parental abudctions and lobbies state and national legislative bodies for the passage of legislative acts addressing family abductions. Marianne continues to search for her ex-husband and son.
Extra Notes: This segment was featured as part of the August 22, 2001 episode.
Results: Solved. In December 2005, after more than thirty years, Marianne recieved an anonymous tip that enabled her to contact David's wife, who gave DNA samples from David that proved that he was Marianne's son. However, David himself didn't want any contact with his mother, most likely due to the brainwashing that he had endured from his father. Although the result was very heartbreaking, she accepted the result as closure to her search.
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