Within an hour, people who had called him a monster were asking if they could visit him.

Owen’s office released only a brief, careful account: Andrew had been located alive following a road accident, his child was receiving medical care, and the investigation remained open.

No details about the family’s finances or Ashley’s medical condition were offered to the public.

That restraint frustrated the reporters who had followed the case.

They wanted a triumphant ending or a shocking culprit.

Instead there was a father fighting to recover, a daughter trying to feel safe, and a neighborhood confronting what it had said before knowing the truth.