55-YEAR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE: The mates who solved a MURDER

After popular teenager Danny Goldman vanished without a trace, his friends turned detective to find out the truth

-  RUSSELL DEPARTMENT

Danny Goldman was a friendly, happy-go-lucky kid.

The 17-year-old high school student had lots of friends, loved fishing, tinkering with old TVs and radios, and hanging out with his girlfriend, Sharon.

He lived with his parents Sally, an interior designer, and Aaron, a successful contractor and builder, in a safe town where nobody ever locked their doors.

But with the Vietnam War raging, on his 18th birthday - March 29, 1966 - Danny would have to enlist.

However, at 4.30am on March 28, an intruder entered via the unlocked sliding back door, waking the terrified Goldmans.

The intruder, who called them by their first names, walked with a limp and carried a gun. He tied up Aaron and Sally, before demanding $10,000 cash.

When Aaron said they didn't have that amount in the house, the gunman more than doubled his demand to $25,000.

He said the figure would double again if he didn't get the cash that day.

Then he tied up Danny with cords and tape, and told his parents he was taking the boy as collateral.

He said he'd call at 6pm with further instructions, then bundled Danny into his own car and sped off.

But the call never came and Danny was never seen again. His abandoned car was found a few days later.

The case made national headlines but police had no leads. They even came up with a theory that it had been staged so Danny could avoid fighting in the war.

Sally and Aaron maintained their son had been kidnapped and probably murdered.

But the case went cold.

Tragically, Aaron died in 2010 and Sally in 2012, without ever knowing what happened to their son.