Christophe Day
Real Name: Christophe Daniel Day
Nicknames: Christophe Field, Christophe Fields
Location: Bowie, Maryland
Date: October 1984
Bio[]
Occupation: None
Date of Birth: October 30, 1980
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Marital Status: Single
Characteristics: Caucasian male with dark brown hair and blue eyes
Case[]
Details: Christophe Day is the son of firefighter William "Bill" Day and Betty Field. They married in 1976 and Christophe was born in 1980. Despite their initial happiness, problems began to plague their marriage. In 1983, they began divorce proceedings. Bill's lawyer suggested that he should be specific regarding visitation rights. However, he trusted Betty's word when she told him that he could see Christophe whenever he wanted. The divorce became final on May 14, 1984.
Bill soon found that his trust had been misplaced. Within weeks, he had to take Betty to court because she refused to let him see Christophe. She was ordered to honor his visitation rights. Despite this, she still did not abide by the ruling and refused to let him see Christophe. The only way he could do so was by visiting him at his preschool. As the weeks went by, he only did so Betty's whim. He felt that he had no choice but to keep taking her to court.
Finally, in October 1984, a judge threatened to jail Betty if she continued to deny Bill's rights. Three days later, she disappeared, taking Christophe with her. Bill then began an intense and frustrating search for him. He started by watching the home of one of Betty's relatives. He even paid the garbage collector $20 a week to let him go through the trash. After a year, his patience began to pay off. He found a letter written by Betty's mother that was postmarked Dallas, Texas. He surmised that she had moved there in order to be near Betty and Christophe.
Two years passed; Bill was granted legal custody of Christophe and finally obtained an address for Betty's mother. He took four days off from work and arrived in Dallas on October 26, 1987. He picked this date because Betty's birthday was October 28 and Christophe's was October 30. He figured that they would visit her mother on one of those days. Throughout the day, he staked out the home.
For a brief moment during the night, it seemed as though Bill's search was about to end. In the rear kitchen of the house, he saw Betty's mother. He then saw the figure of a small child, whom he presumed to be Christophe. However, he decided not to confront them because he believed she would cause a scene and traumatize Christophe. He figured he would get a better chance to take him during the next four days. Sadly, he was mistaken; when he returned to the house the next day, Christophe was gone. Four more days of watching would yield nothing.
Back in Maryland, Bill was desperate and decided to call Betty's relative (whose trash he went through). He said that he did not want to take Christophe but just wanted to visit him. He also said that he knew where they were. Betty (through the relative) replied that if he knew where they were, he should come get them. She promptly disappeared again.
Six months later, Bill returned to Dallas. He managed to locate Christophe's school, only to find that he was no longer in attendance. Unfortunately, his records had been turned over to Betty. Sympathetic to Bill's plight, his teacher questioned one of her students. He told her that he had last seen him the week before, playing soccer in the park.
As a result, Bill was able to identify the YMCA that sponsored Christophe's soccer team, along with their coach. Although many had been sympathetic to him, the coach was unwilling to help him. A few days later, he found out that Betty had left Texas and went to Atlanta, Georgia. One important clue that Bill obtained was a photograph of Christophe with his soccer team. Surprisingly, Betty was in it as well. Unfortunately, Bill has not been able to find a trace of them since. He fears that Christophe may not want to see him again.
Suspects: Betty Field
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired on the May 13, 1992 episode.
- It was excluded from the FilmRise release of the Robert Stack episodes.
Results: Solved. Because she was never served with Bill's custody papers, Betty was legally wanted only for passport fraud. Bill's investigations would later reveal that she had fled to France with Christophe. She was eventually located by him after a seven-year search. Sadly, before Bill could find him, Christophe became ill with leukemia; tragically, he passed away in 1998 at the age of 18. A year later, Bill located Betty and learned of his death.
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