A boy is kidnapped from an elementary school by a man who claims to be his father.

A small caucasian boy, Michael Hughes, with short blonde hair poses wearing a collared blazer.

Missing: Michael Hughes

Missing:

Gender: Male
DOB: 3/21/88
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
Defining Characteristics: Has a scar on his forehead.
Remarks: Last seen 9/12/94

CASE DETAILS

A caucasian middle aged man with shoulder length hair in an orange jumpsuit, Franklin Delano Floyd.

Floyd kidnapped Michael from school

When Michael Hughes was six years old, he was living with foster parents when he was kidnapped by Franklin Delano Floyd, who claimed to be his father. According to Floyd:

“You’re acting like I walked up to a McDonalds, took a strange boy, and walked off with him. And that’s where you’re wrong:

In reality, Franklin Delano Floyd is not the father of Michael Hughes. In fact, Floyd was convicted of kidnapping Michael, and sentenced to more than 50 years in prison. Floyd insists the boy is alive and safe, but he refuses to tell anyone where Michael is or who is taking care of him.

A young caucasian woman with feathered brown hair, Suzanne.

Suzanne was killed in a hit and run accident

On September 12, 1994, Floyd walked into Principal James Davis’s office at an elementary school just outside of Oklahoma City. He claimed to be the father of six-year old Michael Hughes. James Davis recalled:

“He came in. He was acting rather nervous. He said, ‘What I’m doing is very difficult.’ He said, “I’m ready to die. If you don’t help me, you won’t live either.”

Floyd pulled out a gun. He threatened to kill James Davis if he didn’t take Floyd to see Michael immediately. Floyd followed the principal down this hallway to Michael’s classroom. He then forced them both into the principal’s pickup truck. James said Floyd ordered him to drive out to the country:

“Then, when we got down a ways, he told me to stop. And he had me get out of the truck and go into the woods. He left Michael in the truck and he followed me into the woods.”

Michael Hughes posing wearing a white shirt, suspenders and tiny red bowtie.

Where is Michael Hughes?

Floyd handcuffed James to a tree and left. James Davis was rescued several hours later, but for the next two months there was no sign of either Franklin Floyd or Michael Hughes. Floyd was finally arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, but Michael was nowhere to be found.

When authorities dug into Floyd’s background, they discovered a trail of pathological behavior that began long before the incident with Michael. About 20 years earlier, Floyd had settled in Oklahoma City using the name Trenton B. Davis. Floyd had a young girl in tow; he told everyone she was his daughter, Suzanne. Floyd moved away three years later, and for the next decade, took Suzanne from town to town, often using an alias. When Suzanne turned 17, she gave birth to Michael. Floyd claimed to be the boy’s father. He then married Suzanne, the girl he had been presenting as his daughter.

A school hallway, the wall has yellow tiles and the white door to the classroom has a small window.

Michael was abducted from his classroom

When Michael was two, Suzanne was killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident. Though he was never charged, the prime suspect was none other than Franklin Floyd. After Suzanne’s death, Floyd left Michael in foster care and disappeared. Michael’s foster parents, Ernest and Merle Bean, remember him as a child with many difficulties. According to Ernest:

He was not up to grade for his age. He didn’t have muscle control like he should have. He did not talk at all. He was very hysterical. He was delayed.”

Floyd was arrested on a parole violation six months after leaving Michael. A routine blood test revealed that Floyd was not Michael’s biological father. When Floyd got out of jail, he asked that Michael be given back to him, but his request was denied. Six months later, Floyd kidnapped Michael from his first grade classroom. Michael has not been seen since. Special Agent Dan L. Vogel was with the F.B.I. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:

“We would like to have some information from the public indicating that this child is out there somewhere, or they may know something about him being assaulted or possibly murdered. That’s what our interest is.”

Suzanne posing in the sun with her hair down.

Suzanne’s true identity remains a mystery

But Floyd wouldn’t reveal Michael’s location. From the start, the case of Michael Hughes has been full of disturbing twists and turns. Now, there is one more. Authorities learned that Michael’s mother, Suzanne, was not Floyd’s biological daughter after all. In fact, she, too, may have been kidnapped by Floyd when she was a child. Agent Dan Vogel:

“That’s one of the biggest mysteries: who this girl is. We have absolutely no idea. We know that she is not the biological daughter of Mr. Floyd and we feel that there’s a very good possibility that this young girl may have been abducted or kidnapped when she was probably 3, 4 years of age. And we would like to find out her true identity. We don’t know that.”

Franklin Floyd sees things very differently:

“I’m a telling you right now, I did her a favor. She was abandoned to me and I raised her. If I could prove it to you, you know what you’d do? You’d try to pin medal on me for taking her.”

Authorities were able to pin a murder charge on Franklin Floyd in a separate case: the killing of a 19-year-old named Cheryl Commesso. Floyd was sentenced to death for that crime.

Update:

In 2013, this case was reopened and reviewed by the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Over the next few years, Floyd was re-interviewed and finally identified the woman in our show as Suzanne Marie Sevakis. Floyd also told the investigators that he had killed Michael Hughes on the same day that he had kidnapped him.


Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season eight with Robert Stack and in season five with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu.

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20 Comments

  1. Lewis

    They should say it’s confidential! About Michael Anthony Hugh’s.

    Reply

  2. Alyssia Michelle Corbett

    It’s very sad that, a little boy was kidnapped, by a man claiming to be his dad when he was not his dad, he was a total stranger actually, and he was 6, well, both him and the principal were both kidnapped at gunpoint, after we were, found, David Corbett, I don’t consider him my dad, and I never will, hes a psychopath, and he has major mental health issues, he came to our school and was just waiting outside the gate of the school well the teachers knew what had had to us so we were taken back inside into safety and my mom came got us both from school well I hope they find the little boy Michael Hughes who’s is a grown up if hes still alive I hes alive but where is he they haven’t found him, he was kidnapped same year as we were in 1990, but we were kidnapped by a parent, the little boy was kidnapped by a stranger, not his father, which is very scary, no one should ever have to go through that ever. Thank God I will never go through that.

    Reply

  3. Alyssia Michelle Corbett

    This case is very disturbing, I know a psychopath when I see one, my dad who I have not seen since I was 4 & a half years old in 1990, he kidnapped my brother and I, in November 1990 we were gone for 2 weeks and then the FBI found us in Florida, he was going to take us to, South America, and we were never going to be found, if we had gone to south America, but we were found safe and it was on 12/12/1990, 2 weeks before Christmas ⛄ of 1990 in San Ramon CA in the bay area, my brother was 5& a half years old turning 6 just a few weeks after Christmas ⛄ well all rights were taken away from our dad David Corbett when we were 8 years old he is a pedophile and we were abused by David Corbett and so were other children, that we went to school with in 1990, its disturbing, so when I was seeing the Netflix documentary and they were showing photos of the little girl, and she was sad, and that must reminded me of when I was sad in photos because whenever I was with my dad for the first 4 years, I was sad never was I happy or smiling always sad, i would also be wearing dirty clothes, had a dirty face and everything so yeah, when i watched the Netflix documentary, it just brought back memories of what david did to me and my brother, thank god we are both safe his rights were taken away revoked after the courts and my mom found out about david abusing us and other children as well i don’t know where he is now i have not seen david Corbett, since I was 4 years old and I am now 37 years old turning 38 next month at the end of February February 28th. I am happy being and living with my mom she did a fantastic job raising my brother and I, as a single mother all of our lives for sure.

    Reply

  4. Anonymous

    Is it possible that Michael Hughes was actually left at a children’s home. He had previously dropped Suzanne’s sisters at one. He claimed he killed him, but he described shooting him twice which was how he actually killed Cheryl. I’m curious if he just lied to get them off his back and gave a bogus location of the body.

    Reply

  5. MiChou

    I recently watched the Netflix documentary. WOW. Such an awful case. I know FBI says Floyd refuses to speak of Savanna’s death, they say it’s the one thing he will not touch on. I know her bio mother was alive after her true identity was found but her friend from school said that “Sharon” told of her mother dying in a hit and run accident when she was only 4 years old herself. Ironic or did I misunderstand?! I do pray peace on all involved and this little boy is one day put to some sort of rest other than the words spoken by this sick bastard.

    Reply

    • Suzanne

      I think that was what Floyd made up as he could conceive doing that….so he told “Sharon” that’s how her Mother died and when it was time for her to go he actually did “hit and run” to kill her.
      Also, I thought I read that a man came forward thinking he was Michael Anthony Hughes and through DNA proved it to be true. Has anybody else seen or heard that? I can’t find the spot where I read that so I don’t know if it is correct.

      Reply

      • Jt

        That was Suzanne’s brother who came forward. He was 1 year old when Floyd abducted the girls and the boy who was his son. He had been adopted and he did a DNA test proving he was Suzanne’s brother.

        Reply

  6. Chris

    After reading the story and most recently the Netflix documentary, I cannot get my head around why Michaels remains have not been located. Surely if he confessed to his murder and gave the location, the recovery Michaels remains must be a priority to put closure on the case. If it means dragging that scumbag out of his cell to show the exact location of where he dumped that little boy, then it should be done. Let him rest with his mummy at peace.
    Can this be crowd funded or pressured by the media to investigate?

    Reply

  7. Sara

    I am Choctaw, OK where this happened and I remember hearing the office clerks at Indian Meridian Elementary talking about this when I was little; explaining to a parent why the child/guardian sign out process had changed and why it became so strict. I was too young at the time to understand what they were talking about, but looking back at it now just tears my heart up for that poor boy.

    Reply

  8. Stephanie

    Did they find Michael’s body so that he could be a peace? How sad. RIP Michael!!!

    Reply

    • Drei

      They never did , the case is closed but they are suspecting that his body was eaten by wild dogs. I’ve only seen “The girl in the Picture” on Netflix but it doesn’t even have full coverage on the entire story

      Reply

  9. Tricia R Stidham

    /6/15
    KIDNAPPED – FOUND 40 YEARS LATER!
    5 YEAR OLD KIDNAPPED 1975 – DNA MATCHED
    PARENTS STILL ALIVE!

    FBI cracked 40 YEAR COLD CASE!
    Sharon Marshall is…Suzanne Sevakis!…>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    Reply

  10. Ann

    Michael was taken from Choctaw, ok. Not OKC.

    Reply

  11. Cathy Swanson

    Has Michael Hughes body been found and has his mother been positively identified by authorities? Her story and picture reminds me of a girl I knew in Jr high in Georgia that went missing in 1977-1979.

    Reply

  12. Carnie

    Did they ever find that poor boy’s body?

    Reply

  13. kelly

    My GOSH… Such EVIL & HOW on Earth these Monsters can live with those LIES???? Ill Never Understand….

    Reply

  14. Anonymous

    This just goes to show there is demonic spirits in this world that control people’s minds. You have to pray for your kids all the time, because you never know what can happen. It can easily be anyone’s child that can get kidnapped by someone like that. That’s so disturbing!!!!!!!

    Reply

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