Word: stayner
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Seven years after he vanished while walking home from school in Merced, Calif., Steven Stayner, 14, suddenly reappeared. He told police that he had been held in a remote cabin by Kenneth Parnell for what amounted to half his lifetime.* The youngster was joyously reunited with his family, but as soon as his return was reported, a second trauma began. Within days, more than two dozen people called or turned up at the Stayner home, checks in hand, to buy rights to his unique story. Bewildered, the family turned to their attorney. He was unfamiliar with the new problems they...
...blond hair and dyed it a darker color, then brought him home to his one-room cabin near Manchester. The boy's parents never received a ransom note. Parnell did not want money: he allegedly had stolen Timmy to provide a "brother" for Steve Stayner, whom authorities claim he had kidnaped seven years earlier as the boy walked home from school in Merced, in central California...
Police say that Parnell convinced the young Stayner that he had been put under his custody by a court order. The boy tried to run away once, but got lost and returned. Stayner became known as Dennis Parnell and even began calling his kidnaper "Dad." They ended up in the cabin without water or electricity on an isolated ranch near Manchester. Stayner attended local schools sporadically but led a solitary life. He later told the police: "It was boring." Parnell worked as a night clerk at the Palace Hotel in Ukiah. "He was a quiet man who seemed a little...
Despite Parnell's past, police feel that he did not sexually molest Timmy White; they are unlikely to prosecute Parnell for any sexual crimes involving Stayner, who insists that he was not mistreated. The boy clearly has conflicting thoughts about his captor. Police say that Stayner seemed fond of Parnell, who he said "spoiled" him. When Stayner finally left, he took along a dog named Queenie, a present from Parnell. Stayner was defensive about Parnell in his talks with police and reluctant at first to reveal his name. Yet Stayner also said that he had no desire...
Both boys were healthy and fit when they were reunited with their families, although at first Timmy White's mother did not recognize him because of his dyed hair. Stayner's parents had never moved from their home in Merced during the years of his captivity, hoping that their son would some day find his way back. Last week, home at last and trying to rebuild his life, the boy who had been away for seven years opened Christmas presents that his family had carefully saved in anticipation of his return...