20/20: The Kidnapping of Polly Klaas (ABC Friday, September 22, 2023)

20/20: The Kidnapping of Polly Klaas airs Friday, September 22, 2023 on ABC.

What is this episode about

Polly Klaas, then 12 years old, was abducted from her sleepover with two friends and her mother in the next room on a fall night in 1993. The bold kidnapping that galvanized not only the small town of Petaluma, California, but the entire nation into action is the subject of a new “20/20” report, which also examines the case’s long-term effects on the legal system, kidnapping investigation protocol, and other areas.

In the two-hour program, ABC News correspondent Juju Chang interviews Polly’s parents, Marc Klaas and Eve Nichol; Polly’s best friend, Anette Nelson; the lead FBI investigator, Eddie Freyer; the lead Petaluma Police Department detective, Vail Bello; and members of the elite FBI team called in to collect evidence that led to the discovery of Polly and the conviction of her killer, Richard Allen Davis. From the initial outpouring of public support in the search for Polly to a chilling encounter between police and Davis months before they identified him as Polly’s murderer, “20/20” captures it all.

Journalist Kim Cross, who chronicles the case and investigation in her new book “In Light of All Darkness,” is also featured in the program.

When can we see the episode

20/20: The Kidnapping of Polly Klaas airs Friday, September 22, 2023 at 9:01pm on ABC

Featured Image Credit: ABC