[mrcaptainbob]

"The white plastic ball at the >end< of the rod" sounds like the key here. There should be enough rod sticking past that plastic ball to catch the stopper. Apparently it's rusted away. To get the stopper out, use a vacuum hose. Place a nylon over the end so it and the stopper won't get sucked down the hose. Insert that white ball again and look down into the trap to see how much is sticking into the pipe. Then check the stopper to see if it could reach that rod. Caution....it gets grundgy in there!!