ATKID Jack and Mary Branson

Jack and Mary are currently working with John Glover to write the Atlanta missing and murdered youth story. John was the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office and headed the investigation. He ended his career as the FBI’s Executive Assistant Director for Administration, one of three direct reports to the FBI Director. He went on to serve as Vice President of Corporate Security for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

ATLANTA'S DARK SKY

The Children Who Never Came Home

In the summer of 1979, the death of an inner-city Atlanta child wasn’t all that unusual. Kids in the projects often fended for themselves, coming home late, and occasionally not coming home at all. But that summer, the murders increased, and local law enforcement suspected a serial killer. As the murders escalated, so did the pressure to find the monster behind the crimes.

Though the FBI had no jurisdiction in local murder cases, the city and nation wanted all possible resources directed at stopping the killings. On November 6, 1980, the FBI opened ATKID, Major Case 30, with Atlanta’s Special Agent in Charge (SAC) John Glover heading the FBI’s portion of the investigation. The Bureau’s only official link was the possibility that one or more of the children were being held in violation of the Federal Kidnapping Law, so they entered the investigation on this premise.

Before the killer was apprehended, 28 names would be added to the list of Atlanta’s missing and murdered youth. The 26 boys and 2 girls ranged in age from 8 to 27, and though several deaths seemed connected, no common thread bound them all. Identifying, capturing, and prosecuting the killer would eventually require the collective brilliance of all levels of law enforcement, millions of dollars, and a unique combination of carefully planned and accidental events. The case against Wayne Williams became a landmark case for both fiber evidence and psychological profiling.

"The Children Who Never Came Home" is the story of one of the biggest manhunts in U.S. history, told with the FBI SAC in charge of the investigation and scores of others with hands-on involvement. But it’s more than a comprehensive study of the investigation. It’s the story of 28 young lives cut short and how their deaths impacted the families and the investigators. It’s the final chapter of a crime that shook our nation.

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