Ashley Flowers

So officers had to hit the pavement and they searched up and down the streets around the theater, but with no luck.

At some point, officers went to the boys' neighborhood, known as the Bordeaux, looking for anyone who knew them or who had seen them that night.

Maybe they could give insight into why the boys would take off on their own or where they might have gone if that's what happened here.

So assuming they didn't run away, what happened to the boys between the time they were dropped off at the theater and when they were supposed to be picked up?

It turns out the brothers were regulars at the theater.

But that woman didn't see the boys the night of the 12th.

In fact, if you read some of the supplemental reports like Lieutenant Locklear did, it appears no one did.

Though something might have gotten lost over time.

That or old news reports were inaccurate because at least one news report says that some employees did think that they saw the boys that day.

But even if that's true, it seems that no one could place them there with 100% certainty, which made investigators ask a very critical question, the one at the heart of this case.

Were the boys ever dropped off there to begin with?

It turns out September 12th was a slightly unusual day because the child care plan changed suddenly without their mom Margie knowing.

That Saturday, Margie had to work, so she left the boys at home with their babysitter, Barbara Temple.

But around 11 a.m., their stepfather, Carl, showed up.

Now, the reason this wasn't part of the plan was because at the time, Margie and Carl, who had only gotten married the summer before, were already on the outs.

Carl had moved out and was now living on base at Fort Bragg, where he worked as a military police officer.

But he still had a key to the house and would occasionally borrow the family car.

Even though Carl showed up that Saturday, the babysitter was still willing to stay.

And she stuck around till like 12.30 or 1 p.m.

when Carl then told her to leave.