PLUMSTED — Marti Rulli, author of the bestseller "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour" about the 1981 drowning of actress Natalie Wood, recently spoke to New Egypt High School students about the writing process and her decades-long quest to uncover the truth about the Hollywood legend's death.

   Ms. Rulli's 2009 book prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in November to reopen its 30-year-old investigation into the Hollywood screen legend's death off California's Catalina Island. Ms. Rulli, a Plumsted resident, wrote the book with the Dennis Davern, the former captain of the luxury yacht, Splendour, whichMs. Wood disappeared from on the night of her death.

   Authorities concluded in 1981 that Ms. Wood's death was an accidental drowning, however, the book calls into question the thoroughness of the police investigation. Ms. Wood had been sailing on the Splendour in the Pacific Ocean with her husband, actor Robert Wagner, and her film co-star at the time, actor Christopher Walken, the weekend of the tragedy.

   About 100 students from the high school's English, history, French and forensics classes listened to Ms. Rulli recall her "long journey" of investigating, writing, and publishing the book. Ms. Rulli brought her granddaughter, New Egypt High School alumna Jessica West, with her to the Dec. 22 event and noted that when she started the Natalie Wood book project, Jessica had not even been born yet.

   Although only a handful of the students present for the author's visit in the high school library had even heard of Natalie Wood before beginning their own research project last fall, they soon came to have a greater understanding of the actress and her work. Several of the students made an interesting video about the reopening of the Natalie Wood case as part of their Senior Seminar study.

   Through their own research, the teenagers discovered just how huge a Hollywood celebrity Ms. Wood had been and they talked about her movies, which included "Miracle on 34th Street," "Rebel Without a Cause," "Splendor in the Grass," and "West Side Story," a musical that coincidentally was staged at New Egypt high school a few years ago.

   Ms. Rulli said she was impressed with the perceptive questions that were asked by both students and teachers.

   "It was a wonderful experience and I believe the majority of the students found it to be an interesting afternoon," Ms. Rulli wrote afterward on her blog,

http://telecomadvisors.biz/martirulli.blogspot.com.

   Lynn M. Pryzbylkowski, the coordinator of the Structured Learning Experience program at New Egypt High School, oversaw the event.

   "Marti really enlightened our students and staff on the process of investigating, writing, publishing, and promoting a book," Mrs. Pryzbylkowski said.