We have a missing child case here right in my neighborhood. Marc Anthony Bookal – 4 years old. It’s been big news all week, with gaggles of the NYC & local cable TV crews up here. My ‘hood. This one is close to home and is messing with me a little more than probably any child related case has in a long, long time. I’ve worked more than my share of abused, abducted and even murdered children stories in my career. Covered, accidents, funerals and crime scenes for little ones. Stood over countless children while they’ve undergone facial corrective surgery in operating rooms in such far off places as Siberia, Amman, Gaza, Nairobi and even northern Thailand. Joyously played with orphaned & injured children displaced by war and conflict in Kosovo, Albania, Haiti and of course Afghanistan. But for all those past experiences and keeping those demons at bay – if just temporarily, this one hurts.
The facts of the boy’s disappearance on Monday afternoon and background of his mother (left), her live-in boyfriend and biological father aren’t something that I feel a need to explore here in detail. Not at this time. It’s all a mess and the criminal background of the mother’s boyfriend doesn’t look too good or add any credence to their story. It is extremely hard to disregard all those surface elements in such a case. This could be anybody’s family – a little brother, nephew or son. This young mother could easily be anyone’s wife, sister or daughter. Yours. Mine. A neighbor. Like I said, “My ‘hood…”
As of Saturday, December 19th., there haven’t been any big developments in 
the case. I regularly stop by the house first thing in the morning and on my way
home. Covered a press conference this afternoon at Newburgh Police HQ
with the Chief of Police, Mayor, etc.
I am keeping my ear to the ground on this one…Stay tuned. -cg.
Chet Gordon resides in the lower Hudson Valley region of New York. A photojournalist for more than 25 years, he recently worked as Westchester Magazine's first photo editor, and previously was a staff photographer at four NYC metro area newspapers. He was also a photo editor at the NY Daily News for 5 years. His work has appeared in The New York Times, International Herald-Tribune, USA Today, MailOnline (UK), Army Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, and Popular Photography magazines, among others. He is a career member of the National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA), and a former board member of the NY Press Photographer’s Association (NYPPA). He served honorably as a U.S. Marine in the mid-1980's, including 2+ years stationed on Okinawa, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia. A longtime volunteer and travel enthusiast, he accompanies several humanitarian aid clients on their international disaster relief and medical missions. Since 1997, he's worked in several African countries, the Middle East, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, as well as Afghanistan, Haiti, the Russian Federation, and Thailand. He routinely mentors young photographers looking to break into the industry and vacations in Bermuda and Kenya.
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