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Family Waits, Prays For Baby's Return

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Patty Ryan / The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 29, 1997

VALRICO — The hunt for missing Bloomingdale infant Sabrina Aisenberg moves into its sixth day with a fruitless search and a plea.

On a once ordinary street in a modern suburb, a place for minivans and Brownie troops, a burly, ruddy-faced grandfather stood at the sidewalk and sobbed.

In the snapshot he thrust before cameras, tiny Sabrina smiled.

Her blue eyes shimmered.

"Please help find her," Stan Sadowsky said.

His plea ended a week, not a mystery. Grown-ups searched and a dog sniffed, but 5-month-old Sabrina Paige Aisenberg stayed gone — five days after she and her yellow blanket vanished from a crib in Bloomingdale.

Friday, three Hillsborough County sheriff's divers and a Tampa Police Department dog searched a nearby pond, one of many in a region where cows and country clubs share the same sky.

"We searched the pond and found nothing," said sheriff's Capt. Rocky Rodriguez, standing near a crime-scene truck at the edge of the Aisenberg driveway.

In the family van, an infant car seat waited, empty.

Curtains stirred beyond screens of wide-open windows, which faced

Springville Drive and a long line of television trucks.

Reporters waited in lawn chairs until Sadowsky appeared — and then all listened and recorded his anguish.

"I'm Sabrina's grandfather," he began. "I want to make a personal plea for the return of my granddaughter."

He licked his dry lips and continued.

"I'm begging you. Please, if there's anybody out there that might know where Sabrina is, please bring her to the closest safe house — a police station, a fire house, a hospital, any place."

His words melted into a wail.

"She's only 5 months old. Her mommy and daddy need her. She was just starting to recognize her brother and sister. Please help find her."

He walked away, ducking beneath the yellow crime-scene tape that blocked the front yard.

Earlier this week, he offered a $5,000 reward for his granddaughter's return.

Sabrina's parents, Steve and Marlene Aisenberg, did not address reporters Friday. The Aisenbergs hired defense attorney Barry Cohen on Wednesday, after intense questioning by police.

Cohen visited the family Friday afternoon. His investigator, Kevin Kalwary, stayed with them while police officers came and went.

"The mood is as you would expect it to be," Kalwary said. "Incredibly subdued. There's a lot of praying going on."

Down the street, yellow ribbons held hope for Sabrina's return.

The family appreciates the efforts of law enforcement and the media coverage, which triggered telephone calls, Kalwary said.

"As long as there are calls," he said, repeating words of a police officer, "there's hope."

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