weapon without a permit He remained in custody in

weapon without a permit He remained in custody in Fairfield until February, when his employer posted bail and he was released. The charges against him were still pending last week when he kidnapped Ms. Hart and her son. The manhunt begins On Wednesday morning, several FBI agents arrived in Rappahannock County to investigate the leads developed by Lt. Brown and the authorities in Connecticut. By Wednesday evening, the FBI was assembling a massive task force of tactical squads, regular agents and Hostage Rescue Team from Quantico Marine Base. The Virginia State Police had sent in tactical squads and several tracking dogs. Assistance was also requested from the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Department, United States Park Service police and rangers from the Shenandoah National Park. A command post was established at the Sperryville Fire Department. Its roof and nearby posts bristled with antennas for the task force’s communications equipment. The telephone company installed temporary lines for additional telephones. Meanwhile on Tuesday night, Old Hollow Grocery, at the intersection of Rt. 211 and Rt. 612, was burglarized. Among the items taken were luncheon meats, cheese, bread, canned goods and a bag of change. Leaf was suspected as the burglar, and this was later confirmed by the investigators. At dawn Thursday morning, the teams left the command post in a cold drizzle and began a house-to-house sweep of Old Hollow. The search lasted most of the day, as three teams of agents armed with automatic weapons and sophisticated communications equipment checked every building from the top of the hollow to Rt. 211. They were assisted by two helicopters, which hovered under the low clouds and mist that hampered the searchers. The team inspected but did not enter any building which seemed securely locked, and searched all structures which were open or unlocked. By Thursday afternoon, however, the sweep had come up empty and the teams were sent home. The command post was moved across Thornton Gap to the Shenandoah National Park headquarters east of Luray. Although FBI agents on the scene would not speak to reporters, they apparently felt that Leaf had left the area. A statement from the bureau’s Richmond office said only that an “intensive search” had been fruitless and requested the cooperation of the area’s residents in the search.

(To be continued next week...)