Opinion ID: 1182224
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the preliminary investigation

Text: An extensive search for Mary ensued, accompanied by significant media coverage of the event in both Tucson and Phoenix. As the investigation progressed, the authorities began to piece together the events surrounding Mary's disappearance and crucial evidence began to emerge. At this early stage of the investigation, the most significant information came from Sam Hall, a physical education teacher at a nearby elementary school, and from two teenagers from Mary's neighborhood. Homer Davis Elementary, Mary's school, is only a few hundred feet from the spot where Mary's bike was found. Sam Hall had been outside the school on the afternoon of September 17 when he noticed a dark Z car in a nearby alley. Hall, who stood approximately 20 feet from the car, described the driver as a man with a medium frame, shoulder-length hair, and a dark beard and mustache. Hall noticed the driver making strange gestures and shaking his head. Because he was somewhat unnerved by the driver's appearance and behavior, he wrote down the car's license plate number, but later convinced himself that he had overreacted. The next day, however, upon learning that Mary had disappeared, Hall informed authorities of what he had witnessed and gave them the license plate number. The license plate number corresponded to a 1975 Black Datsun 280Z registered in California and belonging to defendant. Defendant, 28 years old at the time, had recently been paroled from prison after a 1981 California conviction for kidnapping an 8-year-old boy. Defendant also had been convicted in 1975 of lewd and lascivious conduct with a 14-year-old girl. The information obtained from two teenage boys from Mary's neighborhood provided authorities with the linchpin linking defendant to Mary's disappearance. The two boys told Pima County Sheriff's Department officials that, while riding their bikes, they had seen a dark Datsun Z car driving very slowly at the intersection of Root and Pocito. The driver of the car had long dark hair, a mustache, and the beginnings of a beard. The boys passed the car and headed north on Pocito, where they saw Mary riding her bike south toward the intersection. Neither boy saw or heard Mary come in contact with the Datsun or its driver.