Yerkovich was living in New Paltz, New York, when her 5-year-old daughter Joanna was abducted by the girl's father, Franklin Pierce, on December 20, 1974. Pierce took the girl to Europe, and Yerkovich spent nearly ten years trying to find her daughter. She and her daughter were reunited in 1984.[2] In 1989 Yerkovich sued Pierce.[3]