Quest: Finding Freddie is the narrative of a case that Richard Spradlin had in 1976 as a General Partner in the Washington, D. C., law firm of Clifford & Warnke. It concerns the search for one of his firm's clients (known to his wife and friends as "Freddie") who had suddenly "gone missing" in Lagos, Nigeria. A devout Jew, Freddie had simply disappeared on Saturday, August 14, 1976 (the Jewish Sabbath) while on a business trip to Nigeria. His disappearance was particularly disturbing since it occurred not long after the June 27, 1976 rescue by Israel Defense Forces of hostages being held by terrorists at the Entebbe airport in Uganda.

As spectacular and heroic as the Entebbe rescue mission had been, it had caused extreme embarrassment for Uganda's President, Idi Amin Dada Oumee, who was also serving at the time as Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). In Nigeria, the political situation was even more uncertain due to tensions following an attempted military coup which had taken place on February 13, 1976. Although that coup failed, it nonetheless had resulted in the assassination of Nigeria's Head of State, General Murtala Rufai Ramat Muhammed. It was against this background that Spradlin was sent by his law firm on the quest to find Freddie.

About the Author

Thomas Richard Spradlin served as the assistant to U.S. Senator A. S. (Mike) Monroney of Oklahoma from 1956-63. He attended the George Washington University, where he earned his AA and BA degrees with distinction (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1959. He also attended the George Washington University Law School, where he earned his JD degree with honors and served in the U.S. Army from 1963-1967, where he moved to rank of captain in the U.S. Army. Spradlin is married to Javene Annette Black, M.A., University of Stuttgart, formerly Assistant Professor of History at Stanford University’s German campus and HR executive of the California Endowment. They now reside at a little corner of paradise known as “Critter Creek” in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.

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