The Girl in the Little Blue Dress

John Larson Correspondent

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. - A photograph -- and a question.

How long does a father's love last?  How powerful is a memory?

John Larson (Dateline NBC): What is it about that 30-year-old grainy picture of that little girl?

Larry Yellin: Because she's anybody, which means she's everybody, you know.

This is a story, oddly enough, about what we don't know about a little girl in the blue dress -- because what we do know is simple.

She was born on St. Patrick's Day, 1966. Michelle Kelly Pulsifer was the new baby sister, filling out what her parents hoped would be a perfect family. But soon little Michelle would disappear, and who took her and where would be a secret.

John Larson: Did you ever stop looking?

Dick Pulsifer: Not really.

When they met, her parents were still just really kids themselves.

Donna and Dick met as they entered high school, and soon were just another young couple falling in love in El Cajon, just east of San Diego.

Dick Pulsifer: I met her at a high school party. And we kind of danced, talked, and I got her telephone number, and we started dating.

Dick Pulsifer says he and Donna were inseparable. They dated for three years and when Donna became pregnant -- though still in high school -- they wanted to do the right thing.

John Larson: You were very young when you got married. Did you have any sense at that time whether or not you were up to the task?

Dick Pulsifer: Oh, I felt that I was -- had no problem with it. You know--

John Larson: You were 16 years old. You've got the world by the tail, right?

Dick Pulsifer: I wasn't wild, you know. I was a straight A student in school. And we actually got married in our junior year.

They moved into an apartment. Donna dropped out of high school to care for their newborn son, Rich Jr. Dick stayed in school and worked nights busing tables. Two years after Dick graduated, Michelle was born.

Dick Pulsifer: They were like twins. She just followed him all over and did everything he did. So it was great.

John Larson: What are some of your fondest memories of your little girl at that point?

Dick Pulsifer: Well, she's always crawling on you. You know, that's a kid thing. And then pretty soon, they're pulling themselves up. And then they're walking and talking.

While the children got along fine, Dick and Donna's relationship began to crumble. And just two years after Michelle's birth, they divorced, and Dick accepted it when the courts gave Donna full custody of the kids.

John Larson: It really wasn't a bad breakup?

Dick Pulsifer: No. It was a mutual agreement. Nobody fought anything about the custody or anything. I had visiting rights. I paid child support.

Donna and the kids moved in with a friend in Garden Grove, Calif., in a county just north of San Diego. Dick visited his children on weekends.

But by 1969, Donna had found a new boyfriend. Dick said the presence of a new man in Donna's life did not bother him, just as long as Dick could see his kids.

He clearly remembers one of his visits.

Dick Pulsifer: Rich went outside. He was playing. And Michelle and I were in the living room, sitting, watching TV or doing whatever toys she had and stuff. So I was visiting mostly with her. She was a good kid. She wasn't fussy. She was a typical real happy child.

At the time, Rich Jr. was 6 and Michelle was 3. Dick asked about their well-being and Donna assured him that everything was fine. She also said that her new boyfriend was good with children.

The new boyfriend was Michael Kent, who had a son of his own named Jamie. Kent, Donna and their children lived together as a new family.

One day in the summer of 1969, Dick made an unannounced visit -- but no one answered the door.

So he left and came back a few hours later, but still no answer.

John Larson: What, at that point, did you think had happened?

Dick Pulsifer: I just figured they were gone for the day because nobody was there. You know, I’m knocking on the doors and looking over the fence and stuff. There was just nobody at the house.

It had been a while since Dick had visited his children so he wasn't sure what to think. He decided to contact one of Donna's friends, who told him something strange: Donna, her boyfriend, and the kids had apparently moved away without telling Dick.

Dick Pulsifer: She said ”Oh, they moved.” I said, what do you mean, they moved? She says, well, they left the state.

John Larson: Had they left any forwarding address?

Video   Watch the broadcast When a 3-year-old named Michelle Pulsifer disappeared, her father couldn’t get police to search for her – but he never gave up looking. Watch the full hour here. Dateline NBC

Dick Pulsifer: No.

John Larson: Any phone contacts, anything like that?

Dick Pulsifer: Nothing. They just up and just like disappeared from that house.

Even though Donna had full custody of the kids, Dick had never imagined that his ex-wife and her boyfriend could just take the kids and vanish without his permission. He immediately complained to local authorities.

Dick Pulsifer: I went to the social services. Told them-- I said, "They can't do that. It's illegal." And they said, "Well, yes, she can. She's got full custody, she can do what she wants."

John Larson: Without any notification?

Dick Pulsifer: Anything.

He was helpless -- and heart sick. Where were they?

It would be months, and he'd receive another blow -- news that his wife and son were accounted for, but his daughter, Michelle, was not. Somehow, Michelle was gone.

MORE FROM CRIME STORIES

Crime stories Section Front

The Night Mary Jane Disappeared The Friday the 13th Mystery Mystery at Lost Dog Road Slideshow: Photos in the Bob Duke case When The Smoke Clears Slideshow: The Christie Fleming murder Through The Pouring Rain In Plain Sight: Jaycee Dugard Bad Chemistry Bad Chemistry: Photos in the case Crime stories Section Front   Add Crime stories headlines to your news reader: