Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleLatest case a reminder of unsolved 1978 abduction
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | 6 p.m.
Police: The Search for Cole
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
Metro Police press conference on the Cole Puffinburger kidnapping case.
Cary Sayegh
Sun coverage
UPDATE: Police: Kidnapped boy’s grandfather a ‘person of interest’
The latest kidnapping of 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger is a chilling reminder of another sensational abduction that has never been solved.
Cole was snatched at gunpoint out of his home on Cherry Grove Avenue near the intersection of Hollywood and Lake Mead boulevards on Wednesday by three men who posed as police officers and forced their way into the house.
There has been no ransom note and police are racing to find the child.
This kidnapping has been linked to drug activity by Metro Police, who are working with the FBI and law enforcement agencies nationwide to find Puffinburger, a first-grade student at Stanford Elementary School.
The kidnapping of 6-year-old Cary Sayegh of Las Vegas from the Albert Einstein Hebrew Day School, 1600 E. Oakey Blvd., on Oct. 25, 1978, remains the most publicized unsolved kidnapping in Las Vegas history.
The only suspect brought to trial, Jerald Burgess, was found innocent after a 1982 trial. He served time for rape and fraud in two unrelated cases before being released from prison in 1989.
Burgess became tied to the Sayegh kidnapping when he led police to one of the boy's shoes found in a desert area bordered by Desert Inn Road on the north, Flamingo Road on the south and the Boulder Highway on the east.
Sayegh, the son of prominent Las Vegas businessman Sol Sayegh, owner of the Carpet Barn rug store, and Marilyn Sayegh, vanished from the school's yard.
The parents received only one ransom call shortly after the kidnapping from a person asking for $500,000.
Cary Sayegh has never been found.
In another kidnapping that led to a brutal slaying, 16-year-old Bishop Gorman High School junior and Las Vegas Sun copy girl Terry Romeo was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and left in a desert area in 1973.
Terry Romeo was the fourth child of Dr. Donald and Barbara Romeo. The physician worked at the Clark County jail from 1960 to 1978 and was the ringside physician at major professional boxing matches in Nevada from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Police captured David Ray Bean, who is serving a life sentence without parole at the Ely State Prison for that crime.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Photos: Olivia Culpo, 20, of Rhode Island is crowned 2012 Miss USA at Planet Hollywood
- Photos: Derek Hough celebrates 27th birthday at Tabu Ultra Lounge
- Nearly 40,000 have voted early in Clark County
- Firefighters respond to reports of explosion; find vacant building in flames
- Learning about fans of the Electric Daisy Carnival will help Las Vegas court them long-term
Everything Under the Sun
Blogs
The Kats Report
Las Vegas Philharmonic says search for new music director to begin 'immediately' (1 Comment)
With Shenandoah project stalled, Wayne Newton hits back legally (7 Comments)
Where does a Playmate play when she turns 21? Vegas! (3 Comments)
Ice Ice Billy
The road to six-toed cats and Mayor Bubba
The Kats Report
David Itkin tells L.V. Philharmonic officials he's on his way out (14 Comments)
Diamond Dave sells it well as Van Halen pours out the power at MGM Grand (2 Comments)
Entering debut at Tryst, Nick Hissom is a model for a rapid rise to prominence (3 Comments)
- Locally owned and independent since 1950; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, best news website in the nation & DuPont Award for broadcast journalism
Ok, not to open up old wounds...and certainly the kidnapping of Cary Sayegh was big and if true devastating to his family....but do you not remember, LVSun, another little twist to the story at the time? I'll give you a hint so that maybe your lack of institutionalized memory might be jogged. The "prominent" businessman was under some or other investigation concerning the alleged bribing of a public official whose name rhymes with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Here's what the RJ recounted about 10 years ago....
" At the time of the kidnapping, Sayegh had been indicted along with two other men for trying to bribe then-Gaming Commission Chairman Harry Reid, who immediately reported the July 1978 bribe attempt and cooperated with authorities.
Because of the kidnapping nearly three months later, Sayegh's case was severed from the other two defendants -- Jack Gordon, who later married and divorced LaToya Jackson, and cemetery salesman Joe Daly.
Gordon and Daly were both convicted of conspiracy. Then-U.S. Attorney Mahlon Brown dropped the charges against Sayegh, saying his role in the conspiracy was "considerably less."
Prosecutors said that Sayegh's personal tragedy was "punishment enough." "
Then again, I guess "prominent businessman" is one way to describe the father....
Interesting that in both cases, the link of the parent or grandparent to drugs/organized crime/political scoundrels has been reported. Parents need to be positive rolemodels. I am certainly going to do my part.
The problem is when the parent is an innocent witness. We don't know about Cole's mom but it is certainly a possibility that she did not know or she chose to ignore the crimes around her, thinking that would be the best way to protect her son.... until the criminals literally knocked on her door... dressed as cops, no less. The line between the good guys and the bad guys is blurring of late. Life is not black and white... night and day.... moon and sun. Identities merge into one. If you live a life of good or a life of bad long enough, does it take over?
Can I really trust someone who tried to commit a crime, but then "changed his mind" and wants to be our guardian angel? Can a criminal go good? Can I trust that? I want to believe that people are good. I need to believe that. But reality keeps knocking.... actually... I think it's knocking right now! Gotta go! Later!