Johns told Underwood that he had not been involved in the original investigation in the 1950s, but that he and county prosecutor William McKee were interested in the Cox case and had frequent contacts with local FBI officials. Johns also told Underwood that when he discussed Cox with former FBI agent Vince Napoli, Napoli said the FBI had once been within twenty-four hours of grabbing Cox, and could not understand why agency superiors would not let agents pick him up. Johns speculated, perhaps based on Napoli's story, that Cox might have gone into some secret government agency such as the CIA. In the late 1980s, Jacobs interviewed Johns, who confirmed that he had raised the possibility of a secret government agency's involvement, but said it was only his speculation.
