City executive fears for abducted daughter

American police deployed a spotter plane today to try to find a yacht they fear is being used by a wealthy father who abducted his seven-year-old London-based daughter during a visit to see him.

Clark Rockefeller is suspected of snatching Reigh Storrow Boss on her first visit to see him in the US after the collapse of his marriage to her mother, McKinsey director Sandra Boss.

US authorities fear he is f leeing to Bermuda or South America on his 72-foot catamaran, which he bought with $300,000 in gold bullion.

Coastguard authorities and New York harbour police have stepped up their search for the boat, using a jet to scour the Atlantic Ocean and placing local marinas on high alert. Bermudan maritime authorities said there was no indication that the yacht had entered or was near its waters.

Boston police superintendent Bruce Holloway said of Reigh: "We are concerned for her safety."

Ms Boss reportedly told investigators that she feared her ex-husband could potentially harm her daughter, who speaks with an English accent.

Mr Rockefeller, 48, allegedly kidnapped his daughter on a street in Beacon Hill, Boston, on Sunday during a supervised visit, grabbing her and jumping into a waiting 4x4 driven by another man.

A male social worker, who was overseeing the visit, attempted to cling to the vehicle and suffered minor injuries.

The black 4x4 was found yesterday morning and Boston police said they are questioning the getaway driver.

But police have no new leads on the whereabouts of Mr Rockefeller and his daughter, whose nickname is Snooks.

Mr Rockefeller was last seen in Grand Central Terminal in New York on Sunday night. He is said to have been planning the abduction since the end of his marriage and police believe he has related differing accounts of his plans to elude capture.

A second driver, who has not been identified, drove Mr Rockefeller to New York from Boston. She told police that she had no idea of Mr Rockefeller's abduction plan and that he told her he would be travelling to Long Island where his boat was docked, inviting her to go with him to Bermuda. She refused, driving off and alerting police. Boston police also released two pictures of dresses they believe Reigh was bought by her father before he fled and are investigating a possible sighting in Delaware.

Details have emerged of the murky background of Mr Rockefeller, who only three years ago acquired a Social Security number in the name, raising doubts over his true identity. He is understood to have adopted multiple aliases and claimed to have worked in a variety of occupations including as a physician, a mathematician and in financial services.

Mr Rockefeller and Ms Boss, a former aide to New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, married in 1995. She filed for divorce from Mr Rockefeller in January 2007 with the final decree issued last December.

Ms Boss, a Harvard graduate, is one of management consultant McKinsey's most senior staff in London and is on the board of The Mount, the Massachusetts estate of the author Edith Wharton. Currently staying in the Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, she refused to comment.

Until their separation, the pair divided their time between their $2.3 million brownstone in Boston and a home in Cornish, New Hampshire. Sources in Cornish said Mr Rockefeller was a pillar of the community, funding a new police station.

He is a member of Boston high society and was a director of the city's privileged Algonquin Club but resigned his membership three months ago.

Algonquin Club manager Lassaad Riahi said: "Clark Rockefeller is a polite, kind, well-mannered gentleman. What I've seen in the news has surprised me."

Contrary to what Mr Rockefeller initially told his ex-wife, police doubt that he is a scion of the Rockefeller oil dynasty. Fraser Seitel, a spokesman for the descendants of the "robber baron" tycoon John D. Rockefeller, also said he was not related to the family.

Although police are baffled by Mr Rockefeller's background, he is independently wealthy and owns an impressive collection of abstract paintings including works by Mondrian and Rothko.

Boston police have issued an arrest warrant for Mr Rockefeller on charges of custodial kidnapping and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.