Cops in Florida once told me that some Far Eastern men are very fond of adolescent American girls. In some cases, police fear, the disappearances of young girls may not be runaways as originally thought, but kidnappings. Investigators tell me that in one day, a girl can be kidnapped, driven to a port city and loaded onto a freighter or airplane headed for the Far East.

Such could be the case I reported on in Florida several years ago: A long-legged 12-year-old girl named Janey gets off a school bus along a dirt road near her home in Port Orange. Minutes later, witnesses say, they see a light blue van leaving a long trail of dust as it turns onto US 1 and heads south. There’s no sign of Janey. She got off the bus but never arrived at home, just two blocks away. Her mother calls the cops.

Soon the area is covered with police from three jurisdictions and the Florida Highway Patrol. A sheriff’s helicopter is scanning the area looking for a light blue van with the "Aires" symbol painted on one side. The chopper finds nothing of interest. Both parents make tearful pleas before television cameras. Janey’s school picture is shown on three television stations and in the local daily newspaper. A reward fund grows quickly to $10,000 for information leading to the finding of young Janey. Still, nothing.

Weeks go by with nothing more than tips that end in blind alleys. There are two telephone calls reporting vans with an "Aries" symbol on the side. Neither lead pays off.

Police try hypnosis on the witness who claims he saw a blue van with an "Aries" symbol driving at a high rate of speed along the dirt road where the school bus discharged Janey. The hypnosis sessions prove fruitless. Then the phone calls stop. There have been no ransom demands.

Police cannot rule out the possibility that Janey is a runaway, but it’s not likely. All reports from neighbors and teachers show that Janey got along well with both of her parents. Friends also say Janey is a "timid sort" and wouldn’t have the nerve to run away from home. After all that, investigators begin agreeing — Janey was very likely kidnapped, maybe for a Far East slavery operation.

Many months later, I visit the father standing at the roadside near his mailbox. He drives a postal truck for a living and is a congenial sort of guy. My newspaper wants a follow-up story but I am reluctant to ask questions of the family. I do approach Janey’s father and simply say, "Hi," nothing more.

After a few seconds of silence he looks me straight in the face and says, "We know she’s dead. But I can’t prove that, anymore than the sheriff can." With tears streaming down his face, the father continues, "She didn’t run away, everybody knows that. What hurts is, there’s nothing to bury. We can’t even take flowers to a grave."