Greased lightning!

Matthew Jones and Susan White got on the story so fast when they learned that a 3-month-old baby had been kidnapped by a baby sitter that the police investigating the case were left eating their dust.

Within minutes after Matt filed the first bulletin shortly after 11 a.m. March 30, Susan had found a source who recognized the woman as the client of a Virginia Beach homeless ministry. She quoted the woman as saying that the suspect had frequently told people that she was pregnant. The woman also provided information about the suspect's background.

When Matt called police investigators who follow up on what Susan's sources had told her, he was asked "Where did you get that information?" Matt told him, saying "You can read it now on pilotonline.com!"

Matt and Susan stayed with the kidnapping story all day, updating it several times and providing useful information that police hoped would lead to the safe return of the child.

Matt was back at it at 6 a.m. the next day, when he called Kerry Sipe at home to file another update that TV wouldn't have until later: the suspect and the baby were thought to have taken a bus to North Carolina.

Matt and Susan reached thousands of readers first with this compelling story by reacting so quickly and thoughtfully.

Oh, one more thing: Matt reported that the tagline at the end of their online reports were a great benefit to their reporting. "Susan and I were getting tips in real time throughout the day," Matt said. "Now that's what I call convergence!"