The Nation - News from Sept. 22, 1986
The kidnaping Tuesday and botched $1.5-million ransom demand for Amanda Mueller, 9, who was found safe Saturday near Naples, Fla., stemmed from a soured real estate deal, FBI agents said. The kidnapers never picked up the money because of failed communications, said FBI agent William Wells. Wells said the abduction resulted from a deal last spring between Peter Farrell, a real estate developer, and Amanda’s father, John Mueller, who owns Mueller Co. Realtors in Naples with his wife, Barbara. Farrell blamed Mueller when he lost “a considerable sum of money,” Wells said. Farrell is among four men under arrest in the case.
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