unsolvedmysteriesfan
07-01-2008, 03:50 PM
"August 27th, 2001
Marianne's Search - Marianne Malky has been searching for her son, David, for over 25 years. Can you help reunite them? "
Palm Beach County woman fights for victims of abductions
Every day for 28 years, Malky searched for David, whom she says was taken by her ex-husband in 1974 as she lay in a New Jersey hospital bed waiting for test results.
As the years went by, she became a leading local advocate for abduction victims. She's proposed legislation and testified in front of government leaders. Her unrelenting search caught the attention of national television programs and won praise from senators and governors but yielded few concrete leads.
Marianne Malky holds a portrait of what her son might look like now. Malky's son was 7-years-old in 1974 when she says her ex-husband took him while she lay in a New Jersey hospital bed. Malky, who never gave up looking for her son, founded the West Palm Beach-based nonprofit Voice for the Children and has been working with abduction victims for years. AP photo by Lui Xin/Palm Beach Post
Then, the day after Christmas, Malky received a phone call that could have ended it all. A sergeant with the New Jersey State Police called to say investigators found the man they believe is her son.
But the 35-year-old man told police he wants nothing to do with Malky.
Because he is an adult and does not want his information released, the investigators are not allowed to tell Malky anything about him, including his name or address, said New Jersey State Police Sgt.
...
Malky, who founded the West Palm Beach-based nonprofit Voice for the Children and has been working with abduction victims for years, said she was not surprised at his reaction, including his alleged demands she stop looking for him and take his name off her Web site.
"I knew this wouldn't have a happy ending," Malky said. "Heartbroken, no. Disappointed, yes, and very, very angry. That's my emotion."
Malky said she watched a similar scenario play out several years ago during the high-profile Barbara Kurth-Stephan Fagan abduction case in Palm Beach, during which Malky staged protests outside Fagan's oceanfront home to attract attention to the issue of parental abduction.
Fagan was prosecuted for kidnapping his two daughters from his ex-wife Kurth more than 20 years earlier. But even after learning the truth about their lives, their daughters stayed by Fagan's side.
...
- Marianne Malky
Malky added that sometimes the victims feel abandoned, which can fuel their hatred.
...
Because the police aren't allowed to reveal any information about David, Malky said she will continue her own search. She won't stop pushing for tougher parental abduction laws across the nation. And she won't take her age-progression pictures of her son off the Internet.
She's employed more than 20 private investigators over the years, who offered snippets of information. She believes David's last name was changed from Shipenburg to Kaplan, that he most likely attended elementary school in the New York City borough of Queens and graduated from Oyster Bay High School on Long Island.
She's also searching for her ex-husband, Stephen Shipenburg, whom she would like to see prosecuted. She believes he lives in New York, but does not know for sure.
She said the New York District Attorney's Office hasn't searched for Shipenburg because officials believe the statue of limitations for any crimes has expired.
...
In 1974, Malky was so anxious to find her son, she did not file a missing-person's report in New Jersey when he was first abducted. Years later, she was told too much time had passed to file one. But in October at a conference, she befriended a detective with the New Jersey State Police, who tracked down the man they believe is her son.
Because so much time has passed, Malky said she won't know for certain the man found by the New Jersey authorities is her son unless DNA tests are conducted.
"Nothing will deter me in finding the truth," she said. "I don't do this just for me, but for everyone else who doesn't have the strength to do it."
Marianne's Search - Marianne Malky has been searching for her son, David, for over 25 years. Can you help reunite them? "
Palm Beach County woman fights for victims of abductions
Every day for 28 years, Malky searched for David, whom she says was taken by her ex-husband in 1974 as she lay in a New Jersey hospital bed waiting for test results.
As the years went by, she became a leading local advocate for abduction victims. She's proposed legislation and testified in front of government leaders. Her unrelenting search caught the attention of national television programs and won praise from senators and governors but yielded few concrete leads.
Marianne Malky holds a portrait of what her son might look like now. Malky's son was 7-years-old in 1974 when she says her ex-husband took him while she lay in a New Jersey hospital bed. Malky, who never gave up looking for her son, founded the West Palm Beach-based nonprofit Voice for the Children and has been working with abduction victims for years. AP photo by Lui Xin/Palm Beach Post
Then, the day after Christmas, Malky received a phone call that could have ended it all. A sergeant with the New Jersey State Police called to say investigators found the man they believe is her son.
But the 35-year-old man told police he wants nothing to do with Malky.
Because he is an adult and does not want his information released, the investigators are not allowed to tell Malky anything about him, including his name or address, said New Jersey State Police Sgt.
...
Malky, who founded the West Palm Beach-based nonprofit Voice for the Children and has been working with abduction victims for years, said she was not surprised at his reaction, including his alleged demands she stop looking for him and take his name off her Web site.
"I knew this wouldn't have a happy ending," Malky said. "Heartbroken, no. Disappointed, yes, and very, very angry. That's my emotion."
Malky said she watched a similar scenario play out several years ago during the high-profile Barbara Kurth-Stephan Fagan abduction case in Palm Beach, during which Malky staged protests outside Fagan's oceanfront home to attract attention to the issue of parental abduction.
Fagan was prosecuted for kidnapping his two daughters from his ex-wife Kurth more than 20 years earlier. But even after learning the truth about their lives, their daughters stayed by Fagan's side.
...
- Marianne Malky
Malky added that sometimes the victims feel abandoned, which can fuel their hatred.
...
Because the police aren't allowed to reveal any information about David, Malky said she will continue her own search. She won't stop pushing for tougher parental abduction laws across the nation. And she won't take her age-progression pictures of her son off the Internet.
She's employed more than 20 private investigators over the years, who offered snippets of information. She believes David's last name was changed from Shipenburg to Kaplan, that he most likely attended elementary school in the New York City borough of Queens and graduated from Oyster Bay High School on Long Island.
She's also searching for her ex-husband, Stephen Shipenburg, whom she would like to see prosecuted. She believes he lives in New York, but does not know for sure.
She said the New York District Attorney's Office hasn't searched for Shipenburg because officials believe the statue of limitations for any crimes has expired.
...
In 1974, Malky was so anxious to find her son, she did not file a missing-person's report in New Jersey when he was first abducted. Years later, she was told too much time had passed to file one. But in October at a conference, she befriended a detective with the New Jersey State Police, who tracked down the man they believe is her son.
Because so much time has passed, Malky said she won't know for certain the man found by the New Jersey authorities is her son unless DNA tests are conducted.
"Nothing will deter me in finding the truth," she said. "I don't do this just for me, but for everyone else who doesn't have the strength to do it."