Some things in this world are terrifying. Kidnapping is one of them. Of course, we saw it last week in the headlines, with Lady Gaga and her dogs. But, so many times, there is actually a kid in the kidnapping. I think I was almost kidnapped once, but that’s a story for another time.
This came to the surface today because it is the anniversary of the famous Lindbergh baby kidnapping, which occurred on March 1, 1932. As it went, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. That cute little boy was taken from his crib on the upper floor of the Lindberghs’ home. They lived in New Jersey at the time. There was a note with specific details for the return of their son. But. On May 12, the child was discovered by a truck driver by the side of a nearby road. He was dead.
Of course, that whirlwind investigation ensued. And when it was all said and done, they arrested Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder. It has always been my contention that they got the wrong guy. But, they put him in the electric chair and killed him for the crime. Regardless. I’m not the only one who thinks they got it wrong.
I’ve always had a great deal of sympathy for both the Lindberghs and the Hauptmanns in this.
Yet, I learned today that after the trial was over, the Lindbergh’s moved to Europe to flee the frenzy of the press.
While in Europe, the Lindberghs came to advocate isolationist views. They also began an association, of sorts, with Germany. In 1938, the U.S. Air Attaché in Berlin invited Charles to inspect the rising power of Nazi Germany’s Air Force.
So they went and looked around with those German leaders as WWII was stirring. The Lindberghs were impressed by German technology. They were also roused by the large fleet of aircraft at Nazi Germany’s beck and call.
Charles made it no secret that he opposed U.S. entry into the impending European conflict. Again, their isolationist views came into play. Lindbergh was unashamedly pro-German and an anti-Semite. Lindbergh’s speeches and writings often reflected those Nazi views on race and religion. It appears they were influenced by the Nazi ideas about the ways of the world.
In April 1939, the Lindberghs returned to the United States. Because of his outspoken beliefs about how a future war would disrupt the United States, the antiwar America First Committee quickly adopted Charles as its leader in 1940. But all of that, the Committee and its ideas, fell apart after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
There is much more that transpired with their lives and their views. And. The Lindberghs had five more children: sons Jon, Land, Scott, and daughters Anne and Reeve. I’m sure each of them could tell a story of their own.
But kidnapping remains a problem in this country.
Here are some statistics:
• Over 460,000 children go missing each year. Around 5,000 of those missing children are kidnapped.
• In 2015, only 0.1% of missing children cases were the result of stranger abductions.
• Kids aged 12 and above are kidnapping victims in around 80% of all cases involving minors.
• Girls aged 12–17 are the most common victims of abduction.
• 60% of child sex trafficking victims have a history with social services or foster care.
• Nearly 90% of missing children cases do not involve abductions. The children are either lost, ran away, or failed to contact their parents.
Today is much different than 1932, that is for sure. But even with all these horrific statistics, the truth remains that the world is not run by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles, as QAnon suggests.
It is a real problem experienced by real people. And sadly, it will probably never be eradicated. Despite all of this, it is most important to remember that there are billions of good people in the world. And you are one of them.
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“I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.”
― Mark Twain
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“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”
― L. Frank Baum, The Lost Princess of Oz
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“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
― Daniel J. Boorstin
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Kidnapping. In history and today.
