Full Transcript for The Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping

folks who are crazy about true crime like I am. and solving cases like you are. 00:05:52 Speaker 2: And gives me the happy hour, gives me a chance to have some bourbon and share that experience with our friends. 00:05:57 Speaker 1: There you go. 00:05:59 Speaker 2: Okay. 00:06:00 Speaker 1: Enough about the wonderful Patreon. We got to get serious because this is a pretty big case and there are a lot of details and we haven't visited this kind of case in a while, but I think you're going to find it really interesting. So we are going to 1930s Washington State. 00:06:16 Speaker 2: Oh, okay. 00:06:17 Speaker 1: Yep. 00:06:18 Speaker 2: Okay. 00:06:18 Speaker 1: Let's set the scene. Okay, 1935, Tacoma. My cousin lived in Tacoma, worked in Tacoma, I believe. She was a newspaper reporter and a fantastic person. So I have nothing but a good impression from her about Tacoma. Already, I feel like we're pretty well set there. 00:06:37 Speaker 2: Well, I am, what do I want to say, knee-deep into Tacoma and Seattle and that entire area because I am going after Ted Bundy and other crimes he's committed. 00:06:47 Speaker 1: Oh, my gosh. So you really are. I mean, this is that Northwest... Angle with all the serial killer. 00:06:54 Speaker 2: Okay. 00:06:54 Speaker 1: Well, we're not in that type of case this time, but I bet we address another Washington State serial killer case at some point. 00:07:02 Speaker 2: Okay. Okay. 00:07:03 Speaker 1: We're going to a residence of a very prominent family. So they are the Weyerhaeuser family, and they are on 4th Street in Tacoma, and this is May 24th, 1935. So the Weyerhausers consist of John Phillips and his son, John Philip Jr. These are generationally wealthy lumber barons. And the reason we're starting here is just the week before, on May 17th, John Sr. passed away. So now John Jr. has the entire fortune, which is just loads of money. So now I'm not going to say John Jr. I'm just going to go with John. 00:07:48 Speaker 2: Okay. 00:07:50 Speaker 1: His dad left him everything. And the reason that is important is because we are about to have someone go missing. On this day, John is very, very stressed out because his son, who is nine, is missing. His name is George Hunt. Earlier that day, just like every other day, George was supposed to walk from his elementary school to the Annie Wright Seminary. So this was a short walk. He would meet his sister Anne at the seminary, and then the two of them would be chauffeured home for lunch. This was not after school, so this is lunchtime. But that day, he didn't make it to the seminary. So he walks by himself from the elementary school to the seminary. His sister meets, and then they get driven home. So when he doesn't show up and the sister lets him know, then he calls the police. So that is happening at... noonish lunchtime on this day on the 24th. 00:08:54 Speaker 2: When you say chauffeur from the seminary home, is this a driver? Yes. Like a hired driver, right? Yep. Okay. 00:09:03 Speaker 1: Hired driver. So they go to different schools. They have this meeting point at the seminary and then, you know, they take a car home. This is not a high crime area, so there's nothing alarming. Of course, the fact that when Ann shows up, her brother's not there, that's alarming. So now we are going to fast forward about six hours later John had called the police as soon as, you know, George didn't show up at the meeting point. At 625, there is a special delivery that arrives at the house. The letter is addressed to whom it may concern. So this, I thought, was very unusual. George's confirmed signature, this nine-year-old boy's signature, is written on the back of the envelope. I still have to coach my kids through his signature. But I remember definitely being that young and learning cursive, starting to learn cursive and his signature. So he is gone and somebody has written a note that I'm about to tell you about and it's a ransom and they've had it, you know, to give kind of a proof of life or whatever. They put his, you know, he drew, he put his signature on the back. The police say the signature looks unhurried and executed with an attention to detail, which, you know, we talk about handwriting analysis and there was something called graphology where they would kind of look at the mental state of the person writing things, and it's been essentially debunked. And so that comment made me unhurried. I'm sure George is freaking out when this is happening. 00:10:33 Speaker 2: Well, I just think, you know, obviously they must be comparing this George's signature on the back of the envelope to, you know, paperwork from school, you know, how he signed things, and they're saying at least it appears that it's it's lining up. There may be a perception. George has been kidnapped. And so the perception is that he's severely traumatized. He's under fear. You could have a kidnapper that is treating him like, here you go, here's some ice cream. Here's a new toy for you. And George is at least placated as And isn't in fear. 00:11:17 Speaker 1: I'm daddy's friend. I'm a good friend of your daddy's. Everything's fine. Yeah. 00:11:22 Speaker 2: And the offender's possibly going to take that stance to make George more compliant and easier to deal with. 00:11:30 Speaker 1: And we're assuming that George is still alive. 00:11:32 Speaker 2: Yes. 00:11:33 Speaker 1: So now this is six hours-ish since he was last seen when this ransom note comes. It is typed. It is signed egoist. And the note includes 21 points that John must address within five days to ensure the safe return of his son. First, John has to collect $ 200, 000, which by the way is 4.7 million today, in unmarked $ 20, $ 10, and $ 5 bills. He is to place a personal ad. Man, this is like the fourth time we've done this. He has to place a personal ad in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the ad needs to state, we are ready. And then it has to be signed, Percy Minnie. 00:12:20 Speaker

2: Okay. Okay, here it is. 00:12:21 Speaker 1: You ready? To whom it may concern, $ 200, 000 in cash, $ 100, 000 in $ 20 bills, $ 50, 000 in $ 10 bills, $ 50, 000 in $ 5 bills. All of this money must be in Federal Reserve notes and unmarked. You are not to take the numbers of these bills... If they are taken and the bills are marked, it will all be off. You are not to notify the police, Department of Justice, or any private detective agency. If you do, it will be all off. Keep it out of the papers. This is business be business-like. You've got five days to raise the money. Better have it. In five days, or as soon as you have the money, advertise in the Seattle PI personal column. Say, we are ready and sign it, Percy Minney. Remember, the money will be gone over before the release of George, so don't mark it. The police can't catch us, so be very, very careful to follow the rules. These bills must have been in circulation. Be careful. Remember, and don't try to slip any gold-certified notes on us. You will be notified where to go when the time comes. Be sure there is no one following you, and you will be watched from the time you leave. We won't be sitting behind any mailboxes either. Just follow the rules. We will get along fine. Don't follow them and it will be sorrowful for you, not for us. Okay. Any questions, ask them in personal columns signed same as above. Remember to follow the rules, all of them. A slip of your part will be just too bad for someone else. We know what we are doing. We have it all planned. It has been planned for three years. In meantime, We have looked for places where we might slip and have found none. We are educated and pride says we are fairly intelligent. So if you just stop and reason for a minute, you'll see that it is best to follow our rules. This is getting long. We don't want to hurt anyone if we can get out of it. So if you just follow the rules as they are laying down by us, you will have the one you love back home in a week's time if you care about them, $ 200, 000 worth. So just remember a slip on your part is a slit by us. Don't do it. Egotist. Now, there's a theory about that sign off, okay? But I'll tell you about it in a little bit, the egotist part of it. That's the longest ransom note I've ever read, I think. 00:14:52 Speaker 2: But I would say it's an appropriate ransom note. 00:14:55 Speaker 1: Really? 00:14:55 Speaker 2: Yeah. Why? When I use the term appropriate, this is what I would expect from somebody who is wanting to get the money that they're asking for. And what strikes me is they seem to have a fair amount of savvy related to the money cash and how law enforcement can track cash yep you know so they're they're fairly well educated on that front because oftentimes like with bank robberies right you know banks have you know cash that is uh what you want to call it marked whether you got the other the numbers recorded yeah You have the little dye packs in them, you know, so often robbers don't truly appreciate all the various mechanisms that law enforcement can potentially use. And now when you're starting to talk about, you know, cash, then you're moving into the federal level of law enforcement and Secret Service. You know, so but here, you know, what stood out to me is not only just, hey, don't mark it. don't numbers, but they're also saying we want it to have been circulated. They don't want brand new bills being given. And then they also talk about a gold certificate. And I'm not entirely sure myself in terms of, okay, why would that be something that they would be concerned about? 00:16:27 Speaker 1: Oh, it's very, very traceable. 00:16:29 Speaker 2: You know, and, and, and, well, that's, you know, that's for me was like, yeah, they are recognizing at a fairly deep level, you know, is so, They keep referring to themselves as we or us in the letter. Now, whether or not that's accurate, you know, that's yet to be determined. But they're to the point. As long as this letter is, it's, I mean, fundamentally, we want $ 200, 000. We want it in these denominations. We want it untraceable. And if you don't abide by this, your kid is dead. I mean, that really is what the letter is saying. I'm going, that sounds like somebody who's This is a real crime that is being committed, at least at this point. 00:17:14 Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. So this, of course, makes front page news starting to be across the country. I mean, it definitely feels sort of almost a Lindbergh baby. And it spreads across the country. It is a story on fire and the FBI clocks in. It's a felony to send extortion threats through the mail. And so this is the FBI's case, not Tacoma. 00:17:40 Speaker 2: And I would say, you know, I'm not sure about in 1935, but anytime you have a child abducted, that is FBI jurisdiction. 00:17:48 Speaker 1: Lindbergh kidnapping happened March 1st, 32. Okay, so, and this is 35. 00:17:55 Speaker 2: Well, I think that's a very interesting timing because they said that they have been planning this for three years. 00:18:01 Speaker 1: Planning this. 00:18:03 Speaker 2: Which three years ago was the Lindbergh baby abduction. Maybe that's where they got the idea. Now they're trying to replicate something like that. 00:18:09 Speaker 1: And the dad just died. John Sr. died a week ago. So they read about it. They knew that John Jr. Now you're a step closer if you kidnap the kid to the person who has all the money. Sure. So, you know, obviously John Jr. is going to be the one calling the shots on his dad. Not that his dad wouldn't be willing to pay, but still. So they waited. So this was smart. Yes. 00:18:30 Speaker 2: Yes. 00:18:31 Speaker 1: So the FBI steps in and they start having forensic analysts and psychiatrists look over this ransom note and the circumstances in general. They said that, okay, here we go. They said the note used words like harm rather than kill. So they think that it was written by a woman. Doesn't mean she was the one

in charge of kidnapping the kid, but they think that the note was written by a woman because of that particular word. A little sexist. Second, George's signature indicates that he was unharmed, at least at the time the note was written. And so kind of what you said, they said there's a chance that they're not being mean to this kid or that the kid is not dead, that, you know, they're trying to treat him well. If they really, I mean, you and I have talked about this before. If they really want that money, they need to keep him alive and relatively healthy and happy. If that's the main goal, you know, where we see kidnappings gone wrong oftentimes is they accidentally kill people. the person that they've taken or something really goes wrong and they end up killing them, you know. But generally, the goal is to get the person back. We just had so few of those, you know. 00:19:41 Speaker 2: Yeah. And so that's where I do think that they're probably keeping George, the kid, you know, in a race. comfortable environment, maybe the way to put it, without him recognizing that his life is under threat. 00:20:01 Speaker 1: They identify the typewriter based on the type, which they would have been able to do. My guy from American Sherlock, Oscar Heinrich, did that all the time. And they said it was equipped with elite type. So it was a portable typewriter, but a little bit more upscale. I think still they were mass produced. So I don't know. 00:20:18 Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, we actually, you know, when I first started my career, you know, we were still dealing with typewritten evidence. And, you know, there is multiple ways to be able to, you know, associate, you know, this typed letter back to the typewriter once you find that typewriter. 00:20:34 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 00:20:35 Speaker 2: Good. 00:20:35 Speaker 1: Good. Fourth, they say that because the kidnappers abbreviated the name of the newspaper to Seattle P.I., they said the kidnappers are likely local. I don't know if I buy that. 00:20:49 Speaker 2: You know, I mean, maybe, you know, it's I would say I'd mark it as an observation. You know, is that how that that particular newspaper is typically referred to by locals? But you could pick that up so fast just by if you happen to be coming into town. 00:21:06 Speaker 1: I don't know. Who knows, right? But this might actually add a little validity to what they're saying. So they said that there are some local references that say, I don't know, these guys probably are from this area. Here's one of them. The line, we won't be sitting behind any mailboxes, which I just thought, why are you bringing the cops because you're not going to snatch us? We're not going to be sitting right there. What it actually was, was there was a similar letter written by a guy named B. Gray Hilsman, who's a student at the University of Washington. This is a letter that he used to threaten to harm a girl, Elizabeth Case, unless ransom money was placed behind a mailbox. So they were saying, we're not, you know, we're not doing that. And it's not him. It's not Hilsman. So There's also the signature egoist, which suggests that the kidnappers listen to local radio because two weeks ago, a Seattle radio program had discussed the differences between being an egoist and an egotist. 00:22:12 Speaker 2: There is a difference. 00:22:13 Speaker 1: I don't want to discuss it on this show. We're not going to talk about it. I know we're going to hear from somebody to tell us. That was not the show, folks. So there are some local references. So would you, is that a little bit more, I don't know why they would do that. If they're this smart, would they really kind of drop local hints like that? Or maybe they don't think it matters. 00:22:34 Speaker 2: You know, I think it's just, those are interesting observations to where, you know, that might provide sort of investigative direction as you're going through. If you think, okay, if there appears to be references to local areas that Do we consider the possibility of out-of-state offenders and start putting resources in that direction? Or should we put our resources locally? And I would say right now, they're probably going to be leaning on putting their resources locally to see if something pops. 00:23:06 Speaker 1: Okay. So they don't think the kidnappers are very smart. The FBI says, why would they go and brag about all this stuff? They don't seem concerned at all about being caught. So they're saying of low intelligence, and they think it was a group of individuals versus one person. I don't know if I'm buying that. I mean, you can be intelligent and incredibly egotistical at the same time. I don't know. 00:23:29 Speaker 2: I don't think I buy that either. Right now, like I said, they do seem to have a handle on the tracking ability of the money. Yeah. And they've thought this through enough to where it appears that they are focused on accomplishing their goals. This isn't some psychotic offender that picked up George, killed him right away, and now is asking for ransom with some ludicrous types of details. It seems pretty focused from my perspective. Yeah. Okay. 00:24:07 Speaker 1: So there's a special agent in charge named Edward Connelly. And he wants to make sure George is alive, as everybody does. So he says to John, let's do it. Get the money together. So Agent Connolly's team compiles a list of the bills, serial numbers. They get that insane amount of $ 5, $ 10, $ 20 bills. And, you know, they get this list, which we've seen the police in days that don't have much technology do some pretty incredible things with marked bills or numbers on the bills. Remember the racetrack one? I've referred to that before. 00:24:42 Speaker 2: Well, you know, and it just dawned on me why the, you know, the offender or the offenders are asking for the circulated bills is because the circulated bills are not going to be in sequential order versus brand new bills that the banks get would be. And so you

could easily give $ 200, 000 or whatever denominations, you know, and then have, you know, 1,020s. that are within this particular number range. And so it's very easy to compile that versus circulate it. Could you imagine, you know, back in the day, having to write down every single bill number, you know, that would be tough. 00:25:21 Speaker 1: So specifically, it took 4,242 man hours to complete. 333 pages of these numbers that they write down. 00:25:31 Speaker 2: I mean, wow. 00:25:32 Speaker 1: The FBI in its day too, boy, I mean. I think federal agencies like this investigate, do a lot of work, but then there's that extra work, so they did it in this case. Okay, May 27th. So this is three days after George is kidnapped. So May 27th, John publishes two classified want ads in the Seattle newspaper. One is, expect to be ready to come Monday. Answer, Percy Minnie. Another one is, due to publicity beyond our control, please indicate another method of reaching you, hurry, relieve anguished mother, Percy Minnie. And then a few days later, there's a third ad that he publishes. We are ready, Percy Minnie. So they have the money. Okay. Then it becomes very complicated. There's a second letter. So the second letter comes two days after those personal ads are published. John gets this envelope. It's a brief note from George that confirms he's safe. And there is a second letter saying, That tells John to register at Seattle's Ambassador Hotel as James Paul Jones by 7 p.m. that night. So it's a note from George. 00:26:44 Speaker 2: So John needs to go to the Ambassador Hotel and register under that pseudonym. John Paul Jones? 00:26:53 Speaker 1: James Paul Jones by 7 o'clock that night. 00:26:57 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's interesting. Mm-hmm. Obviously, they've pre-selected this hotel, so there's a reason they've pre-selected that hotel, as well as the pseudonym, who knows, but specifically it's 7 o'clock at night. My first thought is, well, that's isolating John. He's getting away from his residence. Are they in a position to put eyeballs on him as he's getting to the hotel, inside the hotel? You know, what is the reason for that specific hotel and why have him go there at that time at night? 00:27:38 Speaker 1: Well, now this gets very laborious for John because they're running him around a lot. So I'm going to go through a series of things that he has to do. I don't know if this is overthinking on their part, but you can tell me. He gets there. He checks in at 9.45 p.m. There's a taxi driver that delivers another note to the hotel. The note says that John needs to go to South Renton Avenue and 62nd Avenue South. And when he's there, there will be a white cloth banner that marks the next location. So he goes, there's another note inside a tin can. It tells him to drive 700 feet to another banner and wait with the engine running and parking lights on. After three hours with no signal, he gives up and he goes back to Seattle. So they don't show up. The next

day, at 11.27 in the morning, there's an anonymous caller that accuses John of ignoring the instructions at the second banner. And John says, there was no note there, and the caller hangs up. John goes back to the hotel. And around 9 o'clock that night, there's a man who is, they think, maybe faking a Swedish accent, who calls the hotel room. He directs him to go to 1105 East Madison Street. There is another note hidden in a tin can beside a gate. This is the last note. The note sends John to the halfway house near Angle Lake. He follows two roadside banners, leaves the ransom bag in his black 1933 Pontiac, and walks away with the engine running, interior lights on, and the driver's door open. That's exactly what he was told to do. About 100 yards away, he hears a noise and sees a man drive off in his car. The note promises George will be returned within 30 hours if the full ransom is there. So John hitchhikes home to Tacoma. So now they have the money. They have no reason to keep George alive if he even is alive at this point. And then you've got this bereaved father. hitchhiking back to Tacoma. I don't know if the FBI is telling him to keep doing this. I don't know if anybody is protecting him. I mean, I don't know how this operation is working. 00:29:52 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, and I'm just thinking, you know, the first, you know, trip that John took in which they didn't engage? Was there something that hinked them up? You know, if he, he, if, if John actually followed their instructions, why didn't they, they engage at that point? Was that just a trial run just to see is, is John actually paying attention? You know, that may be, uh, but then obviously that, that second run, um, at least one of the offenders is there to jump into the car and drive off and grab the money. The father, John, has done what the offenders have asked for, and he has delivered. Now it is going to be very interesting. Does George get returned unharmed? So I'm curious. I'm on the edge of my seat right now, Kate. 00:30:45 Speaker 1: I mean, Well, so there are a couple of things that are interesting. So one is we've talked about, well, actually, we haven't really talked about it. Obviously, there's a very low expectation that he's going to be back alive because a lot of these don't work out, right? Or it's a fake kidnapping or something. It's, you know, like a child molester or something, right? 00:31:03 Speaker 2: Well, you know, and releasing George back to the family. George is a witness, you know, so oftentimes witnesses are terminated because they don't want George to be able to describe any aspect about who the offenders are, where he was taken to, etc. 00:31:23 Speaker 1: Yeah. And, you know, with the Lindbergh kidnapping, all of that just it was I'm sure there were quite a few affluent families around the country who were were very upset and feeling like their kids are in danger because this was there was a slew happening, frankly. OK, so here is what happens. And luckily, we have a good ending. And this is not the end of the story, even though it feels like it. He is found. He is an incredible kid, this nine-year-old. 5 a.m. on June 1st. So this is, you know, within 30 hours, like he said. So George at 5 a.m. wanders on to a poultry farm. It's about 10 miles south of Issaquah in Washington. And he tells the family that at 3.30 in the morning, his kidnappers dropped him off at a shack four miles south of the town. They gave him two dirty blankets and a dollar. And they told him that his father would pick him up. About two hours of waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. He gave up and he decided to get help for himself. So he walked six miles in the rain until he found this poultry farm. And the family gives George clean clothes and food. They alert the police that George is okay. And then they drive toward Tacoma. 00:32:52 Speaker 2: And the kidnappers never made any communication to John where they dropped George off at. 00:32:58 Speaker 1: It doesn't sound like it now. Okay. So he just sat there and then walked four miles in the rain, just whoever had a light on, I guess, five in the morning. How terrifying for this kid. 00:33:09 Speaker 2: No, for sure. Awful. Awful. George is safe. George is going to be interviewed. What does he say? 00:33:18 Speaker 1: So something happens first. About 18 miles north of Tacoma, the family is approached by a man that they believe is a police officer. Remember, they're driving him home. And at least, you know, they think that this is somebody who's working on behalf of the police. He pays them five bucks, which is about 117 bucks today, and says, I need to take custody of the boy. because it's now out in the media. George gets in the back of this taxi with this guy. So there's a taxi driver and then there's a guy. And the guy is not a police officer. He's a flippin' sports writer. 00:33:54 Speaker 2: Oh, jeez. 00:33:54 Speaker 1: Who's essentially kidnapped this kid to get an exclusive story of what happened. 00:33:58 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:33:59 Speaker 1: Can you freaking believe that? I mean, I believe it, but, you know, so the kid, I guess, talks and talks and talks. And, you know, the poor family at the poultry farm obviously feels like they're duped. He is delivered safe. And, you know, reunited with his family. And he does give a lot, a lot of details. And they were not keeping him in nice conditions. And this is what I mean by this kid George is a total survivor because they were not trying to necessarily keep him, you know, safe and healthy. He says that at the elementary school that day, the school released students 15 minutes early for lunch. So he, instead of going to the seminary, decided he just was going to walk home which is not a great idea. He doesn't tell anybody. So he skips meeting his sister, and he skips meeting the chauffeur, and he cut through the Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club grounds. He notices two men in a green 1927 Buick sedan. We will later find

out. One of them is a 40-year-old guy with brown hair and a mustache. And this guy gets out of the car. He asks George for directions to Stadium Way. George starts to answer. The man grabs him. throws him into the backseat of the car, covered his head with a blanket, and then they take off. He is blindfolded, this poor kid. He is blindfolded and driven for an hour. They drag him from the car. George could hear them calling each other Harry and Bill. They lead him for one half or three quarters of a mile over uneven countryside so he can feel it. They're bouncing up and down. He could feel that they pass through bushes and trees at one point. They carried him over Russian water, so they're going into the wilderness. They made it to a large log. The men removed George's blindfold. They chained his right wrist and leg, and they put him in a four-foot hole, and they covered it with a board. And they guarded him for hours and hours and hours, and then brought him back to the car eventually. 00:36:00 Speaker 2: You know, the first thing is, is that... George makes a change in his routine. This is something that the kidnappers would have no idea about. They probably expected to kidnap George as he's walking to meet up with the chauffeur at the seminary. So they're having to readjust their plans to meet up with him at a location where they felt confident that they could kidnap him and not be seen. So they're now having to improvise. And then It sounds like they had a preselected location where they were initially going to take George, and it's out in the wilderness, and this is where what they're doing is they are assessing, did we get away with it? 00:36:48 Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. 00:36:49 Speaker 2: Right? And then ultimately, I imagine that they go to a different location where they're able to control George, but now they're doing their communications and the ransom plans. 00:37:03 Speaker 1: Well, it looks like they make one more stop. They get him out of this hole that he's in. And around 10 o'clock at night, they shove him into the trunk of this car. Equally terrifying. It's awful. They drive another hour. Then, like, before they march him through the woods, they dig a hole near a tree. They put him in the hole. They also store a car seat and two blankets in a different hole. They cover this whole thing with tar paper. So he's in there all night in the woods, not knowing what's going to happen to him. The next day, there's a woman who shows up. So now there's three of them, two men and a woman. And together, they transport George to a hideout in Spokane, Washington. Along the way, they go through Idaho. And in the early morning of May 27th, they chain George to a tree near Newman Lake, Washington at the hideout. They locked him in a small closet with a mattress, two chairs and a white table. He noticed a watch on the table at red 5.55 p.m. He stayed there until the morning of June 1st. That's when the men dumped him outside of that town. 00:38:10 Speaker 2: Outside of Tacoma. 00:38:13 Speaker 1: Well, they dumped him outside of Issaquah. Issaquah, Washington, Tacoma, 38 miles. And also, see, is Idaho out of their way? 00:38:21 Speaker 2: Well, Spokane is right on the border of Idaho. You know, I think what's standing out to me, because initially when you said that, George was dumped at the poultry farm. I'm thinking, well, that's on the outskirts of Tacoma. But, you know, Spokane is completely across the state of Washington from Tacoma. You know, so this is, I don't know how long of a drive, you know, six hour drive, you know, to get out to Spokane. And then they must have, you know, driven all the way back to Issaquah, put him at least within the geographic region in which his family's at. Yep. So, but yeah, they're covering some significant distance during this abduction. 00:39:07 Speaker 1: And Issaquah is 38 miles from Tacoma. 00:39:11 Speaker 2: Right. I've seen that. 00:39:13 Speaker 1: Yeah. So then that's when he's waiting on his dad. He goes to the poultry farm. So he tells all of this to this idiot sports reporter. You know, he gets this story and then the reporter drops George off at the residence about 7.45 in the morning. And, you know, the family... asked for privacy. And they also asked the Sports Reporter to abstain from publishing all of this To reduce any bad effects on his future life as well as, I mean, I would think the FBI would say don't do it because you're going to ruin our investigation. But, you know, this idiot does it anyway. So it's on the front page of the Seattle Times. It's called the world's most famous kidnap victim. 00:39:54 Speaker 2: Well, I'm just thinking about it from the sports writer. It's not so much the story. It's basically he's doing an abduction of a young kid under false pretenses. There's a crime there. I'm surprised, you know, the FBI probably could have charged him and put him in custody, and he never would have had an opportunity to publish that article, right? 00:40:17 Speaker 1: Yep, yep. Well, George is at home, he's safe, and now the FBI wants to get these jerks. So they release the ransom bill serial numbers to businesses and banks, hotels, railroad companies across the Pacific Northwest. Remember, this was 333 pages. On June 2nd, One of the $ 20 bills pops up. Somebody is being very, very smart and paying attention to these numbers. It has been used to pay for a Union Pacific rail ticket departing from Huntington, Oregon to Salt Lake City, Utah at 10, 10 p.m. A couple of days later, there's another one that pops up, a $ 20 one used to buy a postal money order in Spokane. During the first week of June, 20 additional ransom bills, mostly $ 10 bills, were flagged in Salt Lake City. They go to Salt Lake City. They're thinking this is probably the hotspot. So on June 8th, there are undercover agents, and they say that there is a woman who has been trying to make a 20-cent purchase with a ransom bill that's five bucks. And the Salt Lake

City FBI field offices say they find another ransom bill in her purse. She's 19. Her name is Margaret Eldora Von Metz, and she is one of the kidnappers. and then get her using those bills. Can you imagine? I mean, that's just, that's perseverance. Yeah. 00:41:42 Speaker 2: You know, I think, you know, one of the things that you mentioned, you know, the first time for the Union Pacific train ticket was a $ 20 bill. How often are $ 20 bills being used back in 1935 versus more recently, right? That's a lot of money. That's a big bill, you know? So It's sort of like today, you can use 20s, 10s, 5s, 1s, and the store clerk doesn't pay any attention. As soon as you hand them a $ 100 bill, they're now checking it, right, to see is this authentic or not. And I have a feeling that's what was happening with the $ 20 bills back in 1935. $ 20 bill in 1935 was worth almost $ 500. Yeah, it's big money. 00:42:25 Speaker 1: Should have stuck with the $ 5 bills, I think. Yes. So at least she was smart. So they arrest her. They find out where she's been staying. And they stake out the house because she was renting this place with her husband, whose name was Harry, met Swally. And remember, George said, there's a Harry and there's a Bill. He and Margaret had married November 14th, 1933, after a one-week-long courtship. So these are clearly people who work on impulse. And, you know... They get Harry. So there's a lot of evidence, including George, you know. Harry confesses once they get him. And he blames a friend of his who is a Swede, so a Swedish guy with the, they said, fake accent. And his name is Bill Daynard. And he came up with the plan, supposedly. So the federal grand jury in Tacoma indicts Margaret, Harry, and Bill for kidnapping and conspiracy and extortion. And then there's some aftermath happening here. So two days after they are indicted, Bill pleads guilty. And he's sentenced to 45 years for kidnapping and two years for conspiracy to be served concurrently. And he's in the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary. Then he goes to Alcatraz. 00:43:50 Speaker 2: Yeah. Okay. So I want to say McNeil Island just from other experiences. McNeil Island today is where they put their sex offenders. Oh. 00:44:01 Speaker 1: I don't know if that was the case back then. 00:44:03 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, but then obviously Alcatraz, I know it well. Yeah, we sure do. We've talked about Alcatraz. 00:44:09 Speaker 1: We've reviewed Alcatraz on the Patreon with the real crimes, yeah. Yeah, I mean, so he is in, you know, an awful prison, 45 years. 00:44:22 Speaker 2: Yeah, tell me Bill's background. Obviously, he's Swedish, but okay, so Margaret's 19. I imagine Harry is fairly young if he's marrying her in such an impulsive way. Bill sounds like the ringleader. Is he older? What is his background? 00:44:36 Speaker 1: So we've got Margaret, who's 19, her husband Harry, who's 23, and Bill is 33. Okay. So I don't know much about Bill's background, but he has an alias, which is

Swede Mahan. 00:44:49 Speaker 2: Well, I would, you know, I think... The fact that he ends up at Alcatraz, I mean, that suggests that he has a fairly significant criminal record. And they're also concerned about his ability to escape from prison. So I'm imagining Bill has some level of sophisticated criminality in his past. I mean, I'm just evaluating the ransom letter and the concern about how law enforcement is going to be tracking these Bill's. it wasn't Bill that got caught spending the ransom money. It was Margaret, right? It was the 19-year-old, you know, kind of naive participant that is now utilizing this money. So that's where I'm just reading between the lines and going, Bill's a mastermind. He solicited the help of Harry and Margaret, but Bill was the one that was kind of controlling the show. 00:45:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I was just looking that Bill was actually born in North Dakota, so I don't know where he gets the Swede from, but I guess they were right to say it was a bad rendition of a Swedish accent. So he ends up in Alcatraz. Margaret actually pleads not guilty, which makes sense to me. I don't know what they have against Margaret, except she's got this bill in which she could say, I found it on the ground. What are you talking about? She pleads not guilty. She goes to trial. In 35. And there's testimony that begins on July 9th. She says she agreed to the scheme only because the rules of the Mormon church, this is a really good defense, demand complete obedience to one's husband. So she's saying she was married to Harry. They were married in the Mormon church. He told me to do it. I did it. Blame the church. Don't blame me. Never heard that defense. That's really interesting. 00:46:45 Speaker 2: It's interesting, but also this is where constitutionally we have separation of church and state. So you can't use religious ideations to permit yourself to commit a crime that goes against what the state has said is lawful and unlawful. It's an interesting defense, but I just don't think that the courts are going to buy it. 00:47:07 Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting because she also says that Bill threatened to kill her and George if they did not cooperate. I don't know what to make of Margaret. I thought that was a really interesting defense, though. 00:47:19 Speaker 2: And I think just, again, observationally, Margaret did not participate in the physical abduction of George, right? You know, so I think you could make an argument that maybe she has less culpability, you know, and We used to have the felony murder rule. You know, somebody's killed and you have, let's say, the getaway driver, you know, for a robbery and somebody ends up being killed. That getaway driver could have been charged with the murder, even though they didn't have the gun, they weren't inside the bank, et cetera. I know at least in California, laws have changed. And in many ways, Margaret is to charge her with the abduction versus is she an accessory? That's kind of where I'm thinking she lands. And then she benefited financially. She's got some of the money, at least, from the ransom. Mm-hmm. Yep. 00:48:13 Speaker 1: So George testifies, which is very brave of him. He describes how Bill abducted him at the tennis courts. And with the help of Harry, Bill locked him in the trunk of the car. He was then held captive in the dirt pits. He's chained to a tree. He was imprisoned in a closet. I mean, pretty unreal what he went through. He said he heard a woman's voice, but he can't identify Margaret. The defense just basically said, you know, you can't prove what she did or didn't do. And they deliberate. They find her guilty. She's sentenced to two concurrent 20-year terms at the federal detention farm in Milan, Michigan. Bill, Harry, and Margaret all end up serving prison time after this. But none of them die in prison. They all end up getting out. with shortened sentences. So even Bill, you know, from Alcatraz. So give me your kind of assessment, overall summary of this case, and then I'll tell you about the aftermath, which I also think is pretty special. 00:49:15 Speaker 2: Well, you know, I do think that bringing up the Lindbergh case, that happened three years before, and that the letter writer indicated that they've been planning George's abduction for three years. So there is inspiration. And so I believe Bill probably followed the Lindbergh baby case, as well as maybe the local abduction, you know, with the guy, you know, behind the mailboxes. He's financially motivated. Somehow he's aware of the Weyhenhauser family and how prominent they are. And he, you know, I don't know where he runs across Harry and Margaret, but in essence, he finds a couple that is going to be his patsies and, you know, they, they plan this. I don't know if, if the, the awareness of John senior's death had any provided any impetus, but it could most certainly now they're, they're recognizing, Oh, you know what we got, you know, John jr. Now hasn't inherited all this money and he's got a kid. and somehow they're aware of where the kid's going to school, the fact that the kid has to walk from the school to the seminary, and they launch their plan. And then when George deviates from that plan, then they have to improvise and abduct him, it sounds like, at the tennis courts. But they already have a pre-selected location, the hole in the ground out in the forest where they were initially taking George, and whether or not the secondary location... with a hole that they have to dig. That sounds like they're improvising at that point for some reason. But they go all the way across the state of Washington to Spokane, where they have the hideout, you know, but now they're having to communicate with John through the newspaper. So they're, you know, this is, I'm trying to think in 1935, well, how would they do that from Spokane? You know, let's communicate with want ads in a local newspaper that's out there in Seattle. So one of

them is probably back in Seattle, at least, you know, doing the interactions and then eventually having to direct John to go to the ambassador hotel and, and do these various steps to where eventually John leaves the car running and whoever it is. And I think it's probably bill, you know, bill, you know, sees the car sees that the situation's right, gets into the car with the money and drives off. 00:51:52 Speaker 1: Yep. 00:51:53 Speaker 2: And then they go get George and, at least one of them, and drops George off, you know, in Issaquah. Yep. 00:52:01 Speaker 1: I mean, this story, you know, at the end of the day, that family, I'm glad you ended there, the family that owned the poultry farm were the Boniface family. So John, almost makes me want to cry, he gives them a lot of money, enough to purchase several acres and build a brand new house in the area where they're from. And he offers the dad, Louis, money. lifetime employment at his lumber mill. 00:52:27 Speaker 2: Yeah, very cool. 00:52:28 Speaker 1: And then at the end of the investigation, the FBI, and this is amazing, they recovered, of the $ 200, 000, they recovered $ 157, 319. 00:52:38 Speaker 2: 47. 00:52:38 Speaker 1: Well, so. 00:52:42 Speaker 2: My initial thought is that that cash went in a hole. I would think so. 00:52:47 Speaker 1: But it went out somewhere, but they were spending it on different things too. Now, you're right. I don't know how much was recovered or not. 00:52:54 Speaker 2: I think, well, you know, because like my sense is that each one of them got sort of a cut of the cash, but a large part of that cash probably was squirreled away and hidden, you know, before it was divided. That's what I'm thinking. Yeah. 00:53:11 Speaker 1: So I told you nobody serves their full sentence. When Margaret gets out, she divorces Harry and she goes back to Salt Lake City. Harry, while he's still in prison... writes several apology letters to the family and says, I made a mistake. This was awful. I'm really sorry. Enough that when he's released, he gets a job at the family's plant in Oregon. So he made an impression and didn't seem to have problems and was a good employee after that. 00:53:40 Speaker 2: Which family's plant? 00:53:41 Speaker 1: John's family. John gives him a job at this plant. So I don't know what he says in these apology letters. I mean, I'm sure talking about whatever his upbringing was, how he probably got duped by the Swede. You know, he was 23 at the time. And so anyway, he gets a job at this plant in Oregon from the family and George. So George goes to Yale. And from 1966 to 1999, he serves as the chairman of the board for the Weyerhaeuser company, his family's company. He died four years ago. 00:54:18 Speaker 2: Oh, wow, really? 00:54:19 Speaker 1: At age 95. And just thrived. I mean, gosh, this would have broken people, adults. But this kid, I mean, just had to go through so much. And he sounds like he's from such a great family and everything. It's an awful story, but thank goodness it had such a good ending, you know? 00:54:37 Speaker 2: Sure. 00:54:38 Speaker 1: And he had, it sounded like a great life. 00:54:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, and in terms of the sentencing, you know, and the sentences that were served by The three of them. I think notably Harry and Margaret. I mean, obviously, abduction of a child is a major, major felony. But they didn't kill the kid. This is not a homicide. So them serving their time, getting out. They were kids when they made this decision, even though technically, legally, they're adults. But I don't have a problem with them serving time and getting out. And Bill, you know, I think, obviously, I think he's the mastermind. He should have served a much longer sentence. And him being, you know, in custody at Alcatraz kind of suggests that he has a level of criminality up and beyond just this kidnapping. But in terms of does this crime deserve a life sentence without parole, basically, No, I don't think so. You know, if they had killed George, then yes, you know, this would be a death eligible case in California for sure. 00:55:51 Speaker 1: So, you know, I was just reading on Bill a little bit more. So they thought that he had some pretty severe mental illness. And at Alcatraz, he was not, of course, getting better. I don't know how he was displaying this, but they sent him to Leavenworth for evaluation. And so they ended up putting him into the criminally insane unit. And he served that point out. I have no idea, you know, what Bill's deal was, but that was sort of the latest thing that I had read was that he was very mentally unstable. I mean, this was a terrible idea and it didn't work out. And luckily this family, you know, is clearly, I mean, it just shows how wonderful this family is. Clearly generous and, you know, man, George came home. We do not have endings like this, so it's nice. I usually don't smile at the end of one of our episodes, but this was a really good ending. So we have to have some happy true crime endings every once in a while. I know you're not. I know it probably makes you feel... A wee bit uncomfortable, but I like to have some happy endings. 00:56:55 Speaker 2: Well, you know, like I mentioned earlier when I was wondering, well, what happened to George? I was on the edge of my seat because it's sort of like, oh, I don't want this kid to, you know, have lost his life because that's what typically is... is what we end up getting. And that's typically, you know, during, you know, my case work, you know, it's, we don't generally, if I get involved, it's usually not a happy ending. So, you know. 00:57:18 Speaker 1: Well, and I was not sure if you sensed my tone. I definitely had not as somber a tone as I normally would have during a kidnapping where the, which we've done several of, where the child ends up dead. So thank goodness, you know, this was, so I was sort of kind of, You know, trying to be in the middle ground here so I wouldn't give it away. But, yeah. 00:57:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you did a good job. 00:57:42 Speaker 1: It was definitely more perky than I. 00:57:44 Speaker 2: Wanted it to be. Okay. Yeah, I didn't sense anything. 00:57:47 Speaker 1: So, next week, Mortar Crime. Probably not a happy ending. Maybe, but I doubt it. 00:57:54 Speaker 2: No, that's what I'm used to. I know. All right. 00:57:56 Speaker 1: So, I will see you next week. 00:57:58 Speaker 2: All right. Thanks, Kate. 00:58:03 Speaker 1: This has been an Exactly Right production. 00:58:05 Speaker 2: For our sources and show notes, go to exactlyrightmedia.com slash buriedbones sources. 00:58:11 Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Alexis Amorosi. 00:58:14 Speaker 2: Research by Allison Trouble and Kate Winkler-Dawson. 00:58:17 Speaker 1: Our mixing engineer is Ben Talladay. 00:58:20 Speaker 2: Our theme song is by Tom Breifogle. 00:58:22 Speaker 1: Our artwork is by Vanessa Lilac. 00:58:24 Speaker 2: Executive produced by Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark, and Danielle Kramer. 00:58:29 Speaker 1: You can follow Buried Bones on Instagram and Facebook at BuriedBonesPod. 00:58:34 Speaker 2: Kate's most recent book, All That Is Wicked, a Gilded Age story of murder and the race to decode the criminal mind, is available now. 00:58:41 Speaker 1: And Paul's best-selling memoir, Unmasked, My Life Solving America's Cold Cases, is also available now. 00:58:47 Speaker 2: Listen to Buried Bones on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.