LOS ANGELES -- The mother-in-law of a former Israeli commando missing with his family under circumstances that have police fearing they met with foul play tearfully appealed Thursday for their safe return.
Sol Salomon, 35, the owner of a fire extinguisher servicing company, his wife, Elaine, 39, and their two children, Michalle, 15, and Mitchell, 9, have not been seen or heard from since the night of Oct. 12, when Mrs. Saloman ended a telephone conversation to answer a knock at the door.
'Please, whoever is holding them, don't hurt them, don't hurt them,' Margaret Malarowitz told reporters Thursday. 'I know my daughter and the children are very frightened.
'Please, please, dear God, don't harm them. I'll do anything in my power. Don't harm them, don't hurt them. Release them -- we'll give you anything you want.'
Police were notified this week by concerned neighbors and officers went to the Northridge area home. Nothing had been disturbed and the couple's Rolls-Royce and Mercedes Benz were in the driveway.
Detectives found, however, that blood was 'splattered on the wall' and on the bedspread and carpet of the girl's bedroom. Asked to give the exact amount of blood found in the bedroom, Police Chief Darryl Gates said Wednesday it was 'more blood than I would want to lose.'
Adding to the mystery in the case, Gates said police were 'aware' of Salomon previously, but declined to say why except to specify that he was 'not engaged in illegal activity' and was not a witness in a criminal case.
Salomon, a former Israeli Army commando, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who came to the United States 10 years ago.
'He was a wonderful husband and a wonderful father and the children are wonderful children,' Mrs. Malarowitz said. 'They never believed in harming anybody.'
