The Nation - News from Jan. 4, 1988

Rachel Rauser, a 5-year-old New Jersey girl whose father allegedly tried to sell her for $100,000, flew to Florida to live at the home of an aunt and uncle who won a three-year custody battle for her. A belated Christmas celebration was planned for the girl, who flew from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale with the uncle, Gary Stern of Sunrise, Fla. Three weeks ago, a New Jersey judge granted custody to Stern and his wife, Deborah. Rachel’s mother, Michal Rauser, died in a car accident in 1984. Rachel’s father, 23-year-old Joseph Waltman, was arrested in March and charged with trying to sell the child to the Sterns in the parking lot of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. He is free on $10,000 bail pending trial.