The Etan Patz Case In The '70s: From Psychics To Lie Detectors

Yesterday we checked out the New York Public Library's microfilm room to find some old articles not available online regarding the Etan Patz case. The 6-year-old was kidnapped 33 years ago, and yesterday the FBI and NYPD set up a new crime scene on Prince Street, where the Patz family still lives. You can catch up on the ongoing story right here, but right now we'll look back at how the case was handled and reported in the late '70s.

At the time, Detective William Butler was dedicated to solving the crime, and was reported to have become like a father to the rest of the Patz family. The NY Post wrote, "Every day Detective William Butler retraces the route that the 6-year-old should have taken on that Friday morning two months ago when he disappeared. Starting at 7:30 a.m. [he] walks slowly back and forth for two hours on Prince Street: past a health food store, a resaurant, several art galleries, and a bakery. He is searching desperately for a witness or clue that might have been overlooked by the police." He told them, "It's a long shot, but by now I feel like he's my own son, I can't give up."

Psychics were also coming in to help. It was reported that they were "providing a wealth of clues in the search for 6-year-old Etan Patz, the SoHo youngster who disappeared five days ago. But thus far they've all turned out to be dead ends. One of the psychics told the boy's exhausted father last night that she thought the first grader was in a "blue" hospital where there's a nurse named Mrs. Keanne."

Another psychic was hypnotized and thought the boy was "living safely" with a dark haired woman who spoke with a Spanish or Cuban accent and "who lives on the second floor of a tenement building number 29." The NYPD followed all of the leads at the time, but were reported to have been "frustrated."

There was also a tip that the boy was with relatives in Boston (in fact, his father Stan Patz didn't believe he was near their Prince Street home). Julie Patz's mother underwent a lie detector test at this time, but results were confidential. You can click through for the articles we unearthed at the NYPL yesterday, or head over there and dig through their microfilm files for an even closer look.