by Jaclyn Weldon White

I want to first share with you the official book description……. “On July 3, 1992, seven-month-old Haley Hardwick was reported kidnapped. Her father Kenny Hardwick told police that he had stopped to assist two stranded motorists and, upon returning to his own vehicle, discovered his daughter missing. The case became a media sensation overnight. People in the metropolitan Atlanta area became obsessed with the mystery of the baby’s disappearance. Huge searches by hundreds of volunteers produced no trace of the child. Although they spent hundreds of man-hours following up leads about the kidnapping, the police began to believe that the father was responsible and, with the media, began a campaign to pressure him into revealing the truth.Numerous interviews with the lead investigators and the child’s mother have provided in-depth insight into the case from two very different perspectives. While the police followed one lead after another, the child’s mother was torn between believing a husband she loved and the authorities who kept telling her he was responsible for the baby’s disappearance. As the investigation dragged on, Haley Hardwick became everybody’s baby.”

When this occurred, Our daughter had just turned one year old. We lived in the neighboring county. This case at first sent waves of fear over those of us with children. The fear turned to anger when it was discovered the father was at fault. Anger and suspicion remained at the mother. How could she not know he did it?

This book looks back at the case and gives a point of view different from the media circus and court of public opinion from that time. It is a very troubling story. Jaclyn White does an excellent job of telling the story from her point of view as a law enforcement officer. It is not a book I will ever forget and I will will think about Haley every time I pass Boggs Road.