Just as Ernie Kovacs was becoming a television star, his estranged wife returned to lay claim to his money and his children. By November 1951, Kovacs was caught in the throes of a bitter fight for custody of his two daughters. The court eventually granted full custody to Kovacs citing Bette Wilcox's mental instability.
On July 19, 1952, Kovacs turned his daughters, Betty, age 3, and Kippie, 1, over to their mother for their pre-arranged, Sunday visit. On the following Monday, Kovacs' uncle arrived at Wilcox' residence to pick up the girls. To his shock, he found Kovacs' daughters, Wilcox, her mother, and stepfather had disappeared. The next day, the police attempted to apprehend Wilcox's stepfather, Sydney Shotwell, for the kidnapping. Shotwell escaped after a harrowing car chase with police. Facing a grand jury indictment for kidnapping, Shotwell and the Wilcoxes fled to Florida with Kovacs' children.
Kovacs spent $50,000 on private detectives and initiated a nationwide search for his daughters. At last, in 1955, Betty and Kippie Kovacs were located in Jacksonville, Fla., in a shack located behind a restaurant where Wilcox was employed as a waitress.
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