Richie Fife's Disappearance

Richie Fife's Disappearance occurred on January 31, 1988, in Erie Harbor, Washington. It is the overarching mystery in the first season of Home Before Dark.

A Corporate Cover-Up
In the time leading up to the abduction, Richie's mother became sick and began taking him to the airfield to watch the planes. It was there that Richie met Arthur Conway. He didn't know it at the time, but Arthur was his biological father. Richie's mother didn't want him to tell anyone about the airfield, as things were hard enough at home, a reference to Jack's abusive nature toward Richie.

Meanwhile, Richie was happy at Strata until he overheard a group of executives discussing cadmium and it's toxicity. They didn't want anyone to know about their use of the chemical, which was making people sick, so they hid it on an island outside of town. Richie warned Hank and Arthur who then came forward. They thought they could force Strata to tell the truth about the chemicals. Instead, the corporation came after Hank and Arthur. Arthur had proof - video evidence of an executive admitting to everything. He planned to bring it to the police. However, Strata sabotaged Hank's plane which resulted in his death. They covered it up by making it look like a suicide committed by a mentally unstable man. Arthur fled Erie Harbor that night and made a plan to get Richie out.

A Dangerous Plan
Arthur put his trust in the recently paroled criminal Ezekiel Miller. he hired Zeke to "rescue" Richie and bring the boy to him, where Richie would be safe. He used the fact Richie had been being abused as a cover for the urgent need to get the boy to safety.

Meanwhile, Richie spent his time with his best friends Matthew Lisko and Frank Briggs Jr.. They rode bikes and attended the local arcade where they won prizes or met with their older friend, Sam Gillis. Richie often hung out with Sam alone and the man noticed bruises beginning to appear on Richie's arms and torso. He pieced together that Richie's father, Mayor Jack Fife, was abusing him. Sam gave Richie a pocket knife as a means to protect himself against Jack if things ever escalated.

Zeke's Arrival in Town
Ezekiel arrived in Erie Harbor on January 31st, and made contact with his estranged sister Carol Collins. He had a plan but needed a driver and a car. She didn’t want anything to do with it but he convinced her it wasn’t a kidnapping but a rescue mission. A friend of the family hired him to get Richie away from his abusive father. When Carol refused to help, he threatened to hire an ex-con named Tommy to help him instead. She agreed to drive in an attempt to protect Richie.

Meanwhile, Sam Gillis went to work at the arcade around 10:00 am on the day of the disappearance. He spoke with Richie and they made plans to meet up later that day to watch Back to the Future.

Across town, Mr. Sipple was driving when a white pickup truck swerved into his lane and almost hit him. The cars barely missed one another but Sipple ran into a concrete block that rendered him unconscious. The event left him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. He saw that the driver had a tattoo that said "Sinner" on his forearm. This placed Ezekiel Miller in Erie Harbor on the day of the abduction.

The "Abduction"
Richie met with Matthew Lisko and Frank Briggs Jr. at the arcade where each boy won a toy from a game. The boys left the arcade to ride their bikes at the underpass. The underpass had ramps they could ride over and they spent hours there until it was dark. Matt convinced Richie to stay for another turn, but the turn ultimately broke Matt's bike so the trio had to walk home.

As they walked home, a white van came to a screeching halt beside them. The man inside leapt out, grabbed Richie Fife, and put him in the back of the van before speeding away. He left two witnesses, Matthew Lisko and Frank Briggs Jr., though they were unable to identify the man's face due to the darkness. The abductor told Matt to run before he sped off. Matt did run to a neighbors house where he banged on the door looking for help. The kidnappers, Ezekiel Miller and Carol Collins, struggled to calm a frantic Richie. Zeke tried to explain they were going to take the boy somewhere safe, but Richie was hysterical.

Carol wanted to get Richie out of the increasingly escalating situation but her options were limited as she was the driver. Zeke and Richie fought in the back. Richie stabbed Zeke with a pocket knife and jumped out of the van. He landed hard on the ground and was knocked unconscious. Carol pulled the van over and tried to help her brother, who was impaled with the knife. She pulled it out but cut her hands which caused them to bleed. She wanted to call the police for help and gathered Richie's jacket along with the knife. She prepared to call the police when Zeke drove off with Richie inside the van.

The Search Begins
Carol came home and tried to bandage her hands. The search party had begun so she couldn’t get through to the Sheriff’s department. She got a call from Zeke who told her that she was right about going to the hospital. He was hurt pretty bad and claimed that Richie is dead. He called from a payphone and she tries to reason with him but he drops the phone. He drove off in the van and she heard the sound of a crash. She drove everywhere looking for an accident but she never found it or heard about one in the days that followed. Carol lied to her daughter Kim Collins that her injured hands were just a kitchen accident. Kim followed Matt to the overpass to help the police search for Richie.

Around 11:00PM, Sam Gillis was alerted by the local police department that Richie had been abducted. He joined the search party at the overpass. It was during this search that Carol "found" Richie's jacket in the street. She gave it to the police as evidence. Parents and townspeople arrived to assist, including the Fife's, Collin's, Lisko's, Brigg's, and Gillis families. Frank Briggs Sr. served as the lead investigator and Lieutenant of the HCPD.

Involved Parties

 * Richie Fife - Victim
 * Matthew Lisko - Witness
 * Frank Briggs Jr. - Witness
 * Carol Collins - Perpetrator: incarcerated for abduction and child endangerment
 * Ezekiel Miller - Perpetrator: deceased
 * Arthur Conway - Hired Ezekiel to rescue Richie
 * Strata Tech Industries - Indirectly connected
 * Lieutenant/Sheriff Frank Briggs Sr. - Arresting Officer/Investigator
 * Sam Gillis - Suspect: incarcerated for abduction and alleged murder, freed after wrongful conviction

Trivia

 * Frank Jr lied on the stand, an act for perjury, as he claimed to see the last three digits of the van LGE when there were no discernable license plates on the van.
 * Several copies of the abduction video were made. One was given to Frank Briggs Sr. days after the abduction by Al Wergeles, which was ultimately given to Penny Gillis. Penny made a copy for Matthew Lisko. Matt then made a copy to give to Frank Briggs Jr. who promptly destroyed his copy. Matt's copy later went up in smoke when it was destroyed in the old VCR, prompting Hilde Lisko to record the TV the tape was playing on using Donny Davis's cellphone.
 * Frank Briggs Sr. also paid Birdman $40 to keep quiet about the existence of the tape.
 * A copy of the tape was uploaded to The Magic Hour Chronicle by Hilde.
 * So far, three-generations of Lisko's have investigated the disappearance and the events surrounding it. Patriarch Sylvester continued after his son Matt left town, with Matt's daughter Hilde resuming the investigation when she moved back with her family.