Father Leaves Son in Car at Car Wash, Boy Disappears without a Trace – Story of the Day

When Samantha was called to the scene of a disappearance, she was confused. This wasn’t the type of case she handled, but she paid closer attention after hearing a boy had vanished seemingly without a trace from an automatic car wash.

“Detective Kerr, you’re needed on a case,” one of the recruits informed her as soon as Samantha arrived at the precinct.

“Give me the details,” she said, cutting to the chase.

“A boy disappeared from a car wash while the father was inside talking to the staff,” the recruit informed her, opening a mostly empty file because the case had just been reported.

Samantha frowned. “Hmm, why is this coming to my desk? This is not my area, Officer Caruso,” she explained, closing the file and pushing it back to the recruit.

“Chief said it was yours,” Officer Caruso insisted, pushing the file back into her hands. “Detective, they’re calling it a paranormal disappearance. They can’t figure it out.”

“What?” Samantha stopped walking and rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she sighed. “Let’s take a look.”

An hour later, she arrived on the scene, seeing other squad cars and cops milling around. “Detective Kerr! So glad you’re here,” an officer said. “Everyone told us you would solve this case.”

“It’s a boy’s disappearance. I don’t know why you can’t just check the cameras and be done with it,” Samantha pointed at the visible CCTV equipment of the car wash.

“We have checked it. Nothing. The car goes into the automatic wash with the boy inside in the passenger seat, and it comes out completely empty,” the officer explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Samantha shook her head and took off her sunglasses.

“Let me show you,” the officer insisted, and they went to an office inside the car wash. The owner had given them full access to go through the investigation.

“The father said his son likes to go through the car wash, so he always lets him because it’s safe and only lasts a few minutes,” another cop relayed. “There’s no CCTV inside, though. As you can see, the father goes to the other side and sees his car empty. He starts yelling, running around the wash. The staff comes over. There’s some commotion, but if you check all these cameras…”

“Nothing amiss,” Samantha muttered, breathing deeply. “Run the footage again.”

They did, and once again, no one in that room could see anything out of place. Everyone shook their heads when she asked if the father, Alexis, had any enemies or shady dealings. “He’s just a normal suburban dad with a corporate job. No record. Squeaky clean,” an officer replied. “They also come here all the time. Twice a month, he said, so everyone knows them.”

“We have to do something,” Samantha commented, looking out the window. “Great, the press is here.”

Everyone looked outside, and just as she said, a press van from a local news station was just arriving on the scene. But the detective went out to speak to the father. He was distressed and had been crying.

“How can this happen? In our town? It’s impossible,” Alexis lamented. “Detective, is it crazy to think that aliens or something else took Carson?”

“Something else?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“I don’t know like he was transported to another dimension,” Alexis continued, but it was clear he didn’t believe that either.

“Sir, there’s usually a logical explanation to everything,” she began reassuringly. “The thing is… some officers don’t know what to do when the CCTV can’t provide more information immediately. It’s also never good to fall for conspiracy theories. Don’t despair. Let us work. We’ll find your boy.”

“Thank you!”

Despite her words, Samantha knew they needed to use the cameras as much as possible. They ran some tests to find the blindspots in the car wash. “I see what you’re saying, detective,” the cop working with her nodded. “There are certainly ways to escape without being noticed in the back. But not in the entrance of the automatic wash.”

She sighed again. He was right. “Alexis and his son come here twice a month, correct?” she asked everyone in the room.

“Yes,” someone answered.

“Is it always the same date?”

“Let me check,” an officer stated and went to find the father. He returned with the right news, “It’s always the first and third Saturday of each month. Almost with missing a beat.”

Samantha bit her nail in concentration. “How far back did we check the CCTV?” she asked offhandedly.

“Just a few hours before,” was the reply. “Nothing either.”

“Let’s check the entire week before,” the detective commanded, making others frown.

“How would that help?” one officer wondered.

“Trust her,” another cop said. “Let’s do it.”

They went through the footage as fast as the video player would allow. There were undoubtedly many regular customers at the car wash but nothing too amiss. Finally, a man seemed out of place. He was never in a car. He just walked around the entrance, looked up, and left. He did the same thing several times over the next few days.

“There!” Samantha exclaimed, pointing her finger at the screen. They were looking at footage almost 24 hours before the incident happened. The man walked into the automatic car wash behind a vehicle, which was not only crazy but dangerous.

“He never comes out!” the cop handling the computer commented.

“He was there for 24 hours!” Samantha added, punching the table with her fist. “Let’s call Leslie and run his face.”

They sent the footage to the forensics team, and it only took a few minutes before their expert, Leslie, called. “Wanted in three states. The guy cut his hair and shaved his beard, but it’s him. Likes to kidnap little boys.”

“Any clues on his whereabouts?” Samantha urged as she exited the little office at the car wash and walked to her car while putting on her jacket. The other cops followed her.

“Now that we know who to look for, I spotted him in some traffic light footage,” Leslie continued, telling her some directions.

Samantha got in her car, placed the alarm on the roof, and sped away with other vehicles. Leslie had seen him getting into an alley near the bakery downtown. The shop owner said she rented the space above to a young man just a month ago, and Samantha knew it had to be him.

She stormed into the apartment with her gun out. The boy was tied to a chair in the living room. Other officers released him, and the boy whispered, “He’s in the bathroom.”

The officers didn’t hesitate to kick down the bathroom door and arrest the vile kidnapper. Samantha took Carson with her and drove right to his father’s house. Alexis rushed out of the house in relief, hugging his boy.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Samantha said.

While the detective already had the respect of her community, this case was big for her because the man had been kidnapping children for years, managing to sneak through places like a ghost. But that’s only because he learned how to see blind areas and how to hide well.

He also had patience. He had waited, hiding behind the automatic car wash’s big brushes without being noticed. No one on the staff expected that because the industrial brushes could hurt people when turned on. However, the criminal did it efficiently, took the boy out of the car, sedated him, and rushed away when the father made a commotion.

When the story ran on the news, almost all businesses added more cameras to their property.

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