Synopses & Reviews
It was the mystery that gripped the nation during the summer of 2001: the sudden disappearance of Chandra Levy, a young, promising intern, and the possible involvement of Congressman Gary Condit. And then the case went cold. By 2007, satellite trucks and reporters had long since abandoned the story of the congressman and the intern in search of other news, fresh scandals. Across the country, Chandras parents tried to resume their daily lives, desperately hoping that someday there might be a break in the investigation.
And in Washington, the old game of whos up and whos down played on without interruption.
But Chandra Levy haunted. Six years after the young interns disappearance, investigative editors of the Washington Post pitched two Pulitzer Prize- winning reporters their idea: Revisit the unsolved case and find out what happened to Chandra, a task that had eluded police and the FBI.
Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz went to work. e result was a thirteen-part series in the Washington Post that focused on a prime suspect the police and the FBI had passed over years before. They had wrongly pursued Condit and chased numerous false leads, including a claim that Chandra had been kidnapped and taken to the Middle East.
But the most likely culprit was far less glamorous: an immigrant from El Salvador, a young man in the clutches of alcohol, drugs, and violence who had been stalking the running paths of Rock Creek Park, assaulting female joggers at knifepoint. He had attacked again, even as the police and the press concentrated on a congressman romantically linked to the intern.
Finding Chandra explores the bungled police efforts to locate the crime scene and catch a killer, the ambition and hubris of Washingtons power elite and press corps, the twisted culture of politics, the dark nature of political scandal, and the agony of parents struggling to comprehend the loss of a child. Above all, it is a quintessential portrait of a cast of outsiders who came to Washington with dreams of something better, only to be forever changed.
Review
"Essential for those interested in true crime mysteries or the world of Washington, DC, politics."
- Library Journal
Review
"A well-reported, well-written chronicle of a botched criminal investigation and its disturbing aftermath."
- Kirkus
Review
“[A] triumph of investigative journalism. Its authors did what the D.C. police and the FBI had not done: They exonerated Condit and identified Guandique as Levy's likely killer. Their reporting was thorough and focused, and they provide readers with detailed notes about where their facts come from.”
--San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“An exhaustive and authoritative account.”
--Wall Street Journal
Review
"Fine reporting and behind-the-scenes drama; a must for true-crime fans."
- Booklist
Review
“A remarkably detailed, straight-up exposÉ of bureaucratic incompetence and human folly, set against the alluring backdrop of Washington. It’s an impressive feat of reporting and storytelling, full of the kind of plot elements that seem unbelievable and are made all the more engrossing because they’re true.”
--The New York Times Book Review
Review
"A meticulous study of the case and the media circus surrounding it... Higham and Horwitz's compelling story brings hope that justice may finally come for Levys."
- Publisher's Weekly
About the Author
Scott Higham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning member of The Washington Post's investigations unit. He has conducted numerous investigations for the news organization, including an examination of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison, and waste and fraud in Homeland Security contracting. The Abu Ghraib investigation was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting, and the series on contracting won the Investigative Reporters and Editors award for large newspapers.Sari Horwitz is also a Pulitzer-Prize winning member of The Washington Post’s investigation unit. A reporter for The Washington Post for twenty-six years, she has covered crime, homeland security, federal law enforcement, education, and social services. Horwitz and Higham shared the 2002 Pulitzer Price for Investigative Reporting for their examination of the deaths of children in the D.C. foster care system. Horwitz also co-wrote an investigation of D.C. police shootings that won the 1999 Pulitzer for public service and the 1999 Selden Ring Award. She was a member of the team of reporters who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech. Horwitz co-authored the 2003 book, Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation. Among her other awards are the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for reporting on the disadvantaged and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal. A native of Tucson, Arizona, Horwitz graduated from Bryn Mawr College and holds a masters degree in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford University. She lives in Washington with her husband and daughter.