Kidnapping of Lindbergh baby
Police investigation
The police started with searching the area miles around the Lindbergh house. After midnight a fingerprint expert arrived to examine the note left on the window sill and the ladder. The ladder had produced 400 partial fingerprints and some footprints, but due to actions of local police and reporters at the night of the crime none of the prints had any value to investigators. During the fingerprint discovery process, not a single usable fingerprint was found in the room, not even left by any of the family members or the nurse. The ransom note that was found by Lindbergh was opened and read by the police after they arrived. The brief, handwritten letter was full of spelling mistakes and grammatical irregularities.
Dear Sir!
Have 50.000$ redy 25 000$ in
20$ bills 15000$ in 10$ bills and
10000$ in 5$ bills After 2-4 days
we will inform you were to deliver
the mony.
We warn you for making
anyding public or for notify the Police
The child is in gut care.
Indication for all letters are
Singnature [symbol]
and three hohls.
The symbol put on the note was consisting of two interconnected circles (coloured red and blue) with a hole punched through the red circle and two other holes punched outside the circles.
Even superficial analysis of the note suggested that the author was foreigner and most probably spoke German as his native language. Lindbergh himself was convinced that organized crime figures were behind the kidnapping and took steps to get in touch with the mob. Several organized crime figures - including Al Capone, Willie Moretti, Joe Adonis and Longy Zwillman - spoke from prison, offering to help return the baby to his family in exchange for money or for legal favours.
The morning after the kidnapping, US President Herbert Hoover was notified of the crime and authorized the Bureau of Investigation (not yet called the FBI) to investigate the case. New Jersey officials announced a $25,000 reward for the safe return of "Little Lindy". The Lindbergh family offered an additional $50,000 reward of their own. The total reward of $75,000 was a huge amount of money, especially keeping in mind that two years earlier the Great Depression has began.
Can you solve a case like this?
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