Have you seen Andy?

Terrifying film on abducted kids is a must-see

The most terrifying part of "Have You Seen Andy?" the Emmy-winning documentary by Boston's Melanie Perkins, happens midway through the film. A home movie discovered by police in the van of child molester Wayne Chapman begins to play, and though the images are out of focus and the children's faces intentionally blurred, Chapman's words are chillingly clear. They are pure evil - fantasies of what he would like to do to the boys he is stalking, 8-year-olds getting off a school bus.

The feature-length documentary tells the story of Andy Puglisi, just 10 years old when he vanished from a public swimming pool in Lawrence, 32 summers ago. Melanie Perkins was 9 then, and she and Andy were best buddies. Both were from the Stadium Housing Project, where there were hundreds of children, but that summer they had a special bond. When Andy didn't return from the pool the night of Aug. 21, 1976, authorities searched for him for six days.

He was never found.

Five known child molesters were at Higgins Memorial Pool the day Andy vanished. The man who worked at the store where they bought candy had been arrested on child pornography charges. And 20 miles away in Revere, there was a child porn ring exposed a few months later.

The kids knew none of this.

"Have You Seen Andy?" will be out on DVD on Oct. 14. It is a film all parents must see.