An unidentified intruder broke into the Handa family's residence on Magellan Road in west Fairfield, California during the evening of August 23, 1984. The suspect abducted Clark from his bedroom where the child was asleep. He shared the room with five other family members. When Clark's mother went in the next morning, she found the window by Clark's bunk bed wide open and her son missing. A ransom note was left at the scene, instructing Clark's family to meet the kidnappers at a rendezvous point and exchange an undisclosed sum of money for the child. Clark's loved ones complied with the note's demands, but the kidnappers never showed up at the meeting spot and Clark has never been heard from again.

Clark is the youngest of nine children; his parents have three children together and his mother had six from a previous relationship. His parents had separated about a month before his disappearance. His father and uncle still live in Fairfield. Clark's family is not wealthy and his mother's home was modest, which makes him an unusual target for a ransom abduction. His family hopes he is alive and may yet return to them.