 Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A six-year-old girl has been taken from the streets of your city. There's no lead to her whereabouts or to the identity of the kidnapper. Your job? Find them. It was Monday, May 1st. It was warm in Los Angeles. We were working the day watch out of homicide detail. My partner's Frank Smith, the boss's Captain Warman. My name's Friday. I was on my way back from the business office, and it was 7.28 p.m. when I got to Room 42. Homicide squad room. Well, the hair was a little thicker. You know, more of it. More like this? Yeah. Yeah, that's about it. Short. Real short. Now what about the eyes? Well, they were kind of close together. Hi, Joe. Hi. Where'd Frank go? Chief Brown called. He went down there. How you doing? Good. Hey, take a look yourself. Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Right on the old button. Yeah. A couple more eyebrows. What? More eyebrows. A couple more. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Say, this fella's pretty good. Uh-huh. A lot better than those guys at the beach. What's that? Guys at the beach. You know, they draw your picture while you wait two bits, something like that, and they draw your picture. This looks just like the guy that took the girl. All right. Sure feel bad about that. I really do. Sir. I was just sitting there, you know, folding up the papers from a route, just sitting folding, all of a sudden I see this thing happen right in front of me. Yeah. The car just pulled up to the curb and they grabbed the girl. It was more than one? Huh? You said they grabbed the girl. Uh, no, no. I just said that. You know, an expression. It didn't mean there was more than one. Just said that. You know how you do. Yeah. Just one. Kid. That's what he was. Young kid. Uh-huh. No Ford. Just like a park. Uh-huh. Joe. Yeah. I just talked to Chief Brown. He wants to know how the picture's coming. About finished. Why? Looks like we might need it right away. Huh? The family just got a ransom note. The suspect was described as WMA, 26 years old, five feet, eight and a half inches in height, weighing about 140 pounds. At approximately 310 that afternoon, he approached a private school in the Hollywood area and forced Grace Marsh and age six into his car. The only witness to the kidnapping had spread the alarm, and in a matter of minutes, every police officer in the area had the description of the man in the car he was driving. Word of the crime had gone out to all policemen in Southern California, and we're all looking for a little girl. Units from juvenile division, working under Captain John Powers joined in the search. A roundup of known deviates was started. All available information sources were tapped, but in spite of our efforts at the end of four and a half hours, the child still hadn't been found. At 8.02 p.m., Frank and I drove out to the house. We parked our car in the next block and walked to the Marsh Hand residence, where we met with Captain Powers and the missing girls' parents. Thought we could talk in here. Marsh Hands are pretty upset. Yeah, what about that note? It's downtown, late and prints are going over it. How'd he get here? Kid brought it. What about him? 16 years old, lives in the neighborhood. Where'd he get it? Says a man approached him in the drugstore at the corner. Asked him to deliver a letter. He gave the kid a buck, but he didn't know what was in the letter. What did he say? Got a copy of it. Here. You want to see your kid alive, get $50,000 in small and marked bills ready, and you'll get a phone call. Don't tell the police. Don't tell anyone. If you do, forget about your daughter. How was it written, Captain? Words were cut out of the evening paper, paste on a plain white sheet. Anything there? We don't know yet. As soon as it's late and prints are through with it, Larry Sloan is going over it. What about this Marsh Hand? Can he swing that kind of money? Yeah, he gets it. He says he will. Are they going to go along with it? I'm not sure. Mrs. Marsh Hand would like us to get off their side. How about him? He wants his daughter back. I don't know. Are you going to talk to him? I guess we better. What about the phone? Did you make arrangements to have it covered? Oh, yeah. There's an extension in the study. You can use that. It's close enough to the one in the master bedroom so we can talk to the Marsh Hand while they're on that one. OK. Anything you turn up downtown? No. Still questioning deviates. Well, we've taken a kid who brought the note downtown. I'm going to have him check the mug books. And we better let him see that drawing, too. Yeah. What about the house you got it covered? Pretty good, yeah. There's a team from Hollywood across the street, another one out in the back. Where are they? One across the street and a neighbor's house. The other one's in the car, out back. OK. Let's go, huh? Yeah, they're in the living room. All right. How are they taking her? Rough. Here you go. Get them out of the house. I know they're going to ruin everything. No, no. Just calm down, dear. How are you, Captain Powers? Mr. Marsh Hand, this is Sergeant Freddie and his partner, Frank Smith. How are you, sir? How are you? This is my wife. How are you, Ms. Marsh Hand? Is there anything new you found her yet? No, ma'am, not yet. I told you they're going to get her back. All this mess is just going to make it in the bus. Now, let's take it easy, dear. This isn't my way. I don't want to. It would be all right if I take her upstairs. Yeah, sure. Come on, honey. Now, why don't you lie down and try to get some rest? It's not going to bring her back. Fine. It's not going to do any good. They did not come out. You get them out of the house. I'm not going to get them out of the house. Maybe it might be better if you wait it out in the kitchen. I'll try to get her calm. All right, sir. I'm sorry. Yes, sir. Come on, dear. Yes, I did. Let's go. I'm not doing anything. She's taking a pretty heart. Yeah. Have they called a doctor? He's on his way. Have they gotten the other children? Yeah, boy, 10. Where's he? His sister, Ms. Marsh Hand, took him over there this evening. Well, they're 16 years of metro standing by, four from our detail. How about the sheriff's department? I talked to Dick Karen. They're with us all along the line, do they? This isn't bad. I hope the doctor gets here pretty quick. Is there anything we can do? You know the answer to that one. You like some coffee? No, thank you. No, thanks. I'm going to make some anyway. All right. I'm sorry about my wife. That's all right, sir. And the whole thing pretty hard. You made any arrangements to get the money, Mr. Marsh Hand? Yes, I called my brother. There's nothing we can do about it tonight. The first thing in the morning we'll get it together. We'd like to be with you. What? We'd like to help you prepare the money. I don't know quite how to say this. What's that, sir? Well, I know you might have tried to help, but I don't want you interfering with the payoff. I was going to make it a little difficult. Maybe so, but that's the way it's got to be. All right. That's the way you want it. Well, it is. You know, it's not going to make much difference. What do you mean? Well, the kidnapper probably knows we're working on the case already. He's counting on the fact that you won't go along with us. What is it you want to do? Well, we'll help you get the money ready. Take the numbers of the bills and prepare the package. We don't want to endanger your daughter's life. As far as we're concerned, you can go right ahead with the payoff when you're contacted. But if we can help now, it'll make it easier after the money's been paid. On who? Huh? Who's it going to be easier on? You or Grace? You going to make sure we get it back? You willing to write insurance on that? There's no answer to that question. That's the whole point. We want our daughter back. I don't care what we have to do or how we do it. As long as Grace is back, that's all that's important. We can understand that. I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, but this is our problem. I don't want to take any chances on something going wrong. As soon as we hear from the man who has her, we'll do what he says. Then you're not going to let us help, huh? No. And I think it might be better if you called your man off. You're making it hard for us? I'm not trying to, but can't you understand? All we want is our girl back. It doesn't make any difference how it's done as long as she's home. That's all it counts. What about the man who took her? That's your problem. As soon as Grace is home, I'll go along with you on whatever you want to do, but until then, I don't want you meddling. I thought she said they'd gone. They're just leaving. You're not going to be happy until she's dead, are you? That's not true, man. Well, it looks like it. All these policemen, the whole thing, a lot of noise, nothing more. You're not doing any good. Why don't you get out? They're leaving, dear. When? After they throw Grace up on the front lawn? Is that when they'll go? All right, honey, now. All right, ma'am, we'll leave. I said, get out! Go on! Don't stand around! All right, now that's enough. You know it. She's my baby. All right, now calm down. Well, this isn't going to do any good. I'm not sure. You're right. I'm afraid you better leave. All right, sir. We'll talk to you later. As soon as we get Grace back off, I'll call you. Yes, sir. You're sure you won't let us help? No, you better go now. Oh, now what? All right. I guess we wait. Yeah. What about the surveillance? You going to call it off? No, I don't think so. We'll check it with a skipper. Yeah. It'll be a lot easier if the marshands had let us help them. At least we know what was going on. Give us a chance. No. This way we're in the cold. Nothing we can do. I wonder if it makes any difference. Huh? Maybe we lost already. We contacted the office and talked with Captain Warman. We told him what had happened at the Marshand home. He instructed us to keep the place under surveillance, but not to interfere with the movements of the family. Officers in the area were asked to stay away from the house. If the kidnapper wanted to make contact, we would do nothing to stop him. 8.46 p.m., Captain Power stayed on at the scene, and Frank and I went back to the office. We met with Captain Warman, chief detective of Stad Brown. You got a call from Captain Warman? No. No. No. No. No. You can't contact any cooperation from the family then? No, I don't think so. Father might go along with us, but Ms. Marshand is dead against it. How are you going to handle it, Lorne? Keep their place under surveillance, wait for him to make a move. Important thing is not to burn them. Yeah. When do they figure to pick up the money, Joe? Marshand said tomorrow morning. What business is he in? Contractor. Got a company with his brother. I do a lot of work in developments. Just finished a big section out in the valley. You won't have any trouble raising the money then? No, it didn't seem to bother him. What are you going to do about that? The money? Yeah. Well, first thing in the morning, we'll try to get in touch with his bank. Make arrangements to have the serial numbers on the bills noted. Crime lab able to do anything for you? Well, we'll check with them. There should be some way we can make it easier. The important thing is to get the girl back. Once we know where she is, we can move her a lot faster. Oh. Homicide alarming. Yeah. Uh-huh. Want to give me that address? Yes, sir. Right away. Good night. Maybe it's coming over to our side. What do you mean? Mr. Marshant. Yeah? He wants to see you right away. Frank and I left the office and drove over to the address Mr. Marshant had given us on the phone. It was an all night restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. We found him in a booth at the back of the place. Hi, Mr. Marshant. How are you? Sit down, will you? You heard anything new? No. The reason I called, I got the thinking after you'd left. The way we acted isn't going to help any. It's not going to make it any easier on anybody. That's right. Mabel and I talked it over, she still isn't too hot on the idea, and I'd appreciate it if you could do what has to be done without her knowing too much about it. We'll do what we can. I don't like to have to put this kind of restriction on you, but right now that doesn't seem to be any other way. We understand. Have you heard anything else from the kidnapper? Not a word. Don't imagine he'll try and contact me before I've had a chance to get the money. No, sir. When do you figure on getting it? I'll call my bank at nine, try and make arrangements then. We'd like to be there when you talk to him. All right. What are you planning on doing? Well, first we want to get the serial numbers and all those bills. I'm sure they'll cooperate. We'll check with our crime lab. Maybe something we can use to prepare the money so we'll be able to recognize it a little better. They'll probably want you to make up a special package, too. Well, I'm not going to try and tell you your business. I guess you know what you're doing. Well, we hope so. I'd like to ask a question, though. What's that? You think she's still alive? Well, there's no way of knowing that. You've had this kind of thing before. You know what the odds are. What do you think? I don't know. I think it's so much easier if we know. Yes, sir. It just seems like she has to be alive. I can't imagine anyone would hurt a little girl. I just can't imagine it. Yes. The first time she's ever been away from home. She doesn't get along with strangers too well. Poor little kid. I'm sorry. I'm acting like an idiot. No, sir. More like a father. We took Mr. Marsh Ann back to his home, and then Frank and I checked out for the night. The next morning at 7.30 a.m., Henry Marsh Ann Frank and I met with Ray Pinker in the crime lab. Have you talked to the bank yet? No. We figured we'd check with you. How's the money going to be paid? We don't know yet. There's only been the one contact. Yeah, saw that yesterday. What's the best way of working the deal, Ray? You're going to get the numbers on the bills? Yeah. Well, the note said to get the amount in small ones. I guess that means 5, 10s and 20s. Probably. Quite a few to work with, won't it? Doesn't make a lot of difference. What are you going to do? Well, we can dust the package and the money with silver nitrate. What'll that do? No matter the time, the moisture from the suspect's hands will combine with the silver nitrate and turn them white. How long will it take? It depends on his body chemistry. Well, about how long? Could be three to four hours. I wouldn't count on it happening that fast, though. How easy is it going to be to spot? Not too hard. The stuff looks almost like a white taping powder. Will it wash off easy? No. It should last around three to four days. Mm-hmm. It depends again on how easily he sweats, how often he washes his hands, and how hard he tries to get it off. Is there any chance he'll spot it? Can't miss it once it starts to show. Well, I don't know if there's something wrong. He might try to do something to Grace. Well, we might as well face it, Mr. Marchand. If she hasn't been returned in three or four hours, it's probably because he doesn't mean to give her back. I suppose so. As soon as you get the instructions on wrapping the money, let me know right away. We'll get it ready. What are you going to do? We'll mark the paper the money's supposed to be wrapped in. Why? So we can identify it. If he wants the package out of newspaper, we've got some on hand. We've got some new brown wrapping paper, too. I think we're pretty well set on that score. I don't understand why you're doing all this. Well, if the suspect gets away from the meeting place, we've got to have a way to pick him up. Well, how's the special package going to help? We'll be able to prove it's what the money was wrapped in. Make it easier to be sure we've got the right man. You sure it was as confident as you seem to be. How do you mean? That we're going to catch the man. Well, once he picks up the money, we've got everything on our side. You're going to have to pick up area of stake-top? As much as we can. Depends a lot on where the contact is made. Right after the payoff, we'll secure the area if nobody will get out. Ray, is there any way we can mark the car? Hard to say. We could use paint. A lot of things we don't know about to set up. It'd be easier to figure them after we've got all the information. If somebody can get close enough to the car, we can drop a capsule of paint on top of it. Put a copter in the area and he shouldn't have any trouble picking it up. Roger Friday? Yeah. Phone for you, sir. Thank you. Take it over there, Joe. Okay. Which line? Ray. Thank you. Friday speed. Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. What? We'll be right over. Now, it's beginning to go. What do you mean? Kidnapper just called. Yeah. He's ready for a meet. The second contact by the Kidnapper had been made by telephone. He talked to Mrs. Marsh and had instructed her to tell her husband to have the money ready by 6 p.m. that evening. He went on to say that another call would be made giving instructions for payment of the ransom. Mr. Marsh and Frank and I talked with her about the call and then we had a meeting with Captain Alarm and Chief Detective Stad Brown. It was decided to go ahead as the Kidnapper had ordered. At 9.02 a.m. we got $50,000 from the bank. We went back to the city hall and talked to Captain James Fisk. He assigned six girls from the record section to Adis. We divided them into three teams of two each, one calling the numbers on the bills, and the other typing a list. At 3.45 p.m. the job was finished. The money was taken to the crime lab and dusted with silver nitrate powder. Because we didn't have the final instructions on the delivery of the ransom, Ray Pinker gave us a supply of plain newspapers and brown wrapping paper. Both types were marked so they could later be identified in court. He also gave us pellets of dark and light paint and we eventually had an opportunity to mark the Kidnapper's car. 4.30 p.m. we got in touch with Dave Robart at the Sound Lab and made arrangements for three-way radio equipment. Chief Detective Stad Brown contacted Army authorities and with their cooperation, we had a helicopter standing by in the event it was needed. Teams of men from Metro Division and Homicide Detail were planted in the area around the Marchand home. At 5.15 p.m., Frank and I, along with Marchand, drove out to his house to wait for the third contact from the Kidnapper. Red 1 to Red 6. Red 1 to Red 6. Come in, please. Red 6 to Red 1. Do you read me? Yeah, Jack. You're coming in fine. Who's riding with you? Over. Tilden. You got any word yet? Over. No, nothing. We'll talk to you later. Red 1 out. Well, that's it, Joe. They're all in position. Yeah, now we got the tough part. Yeah. Waiting. Say, all these cars, isn't there a chance the Kidnapper might see them? No, sir. They're scattered all over the area. Matter of fact, none of them can even see the house. Hope it works out. Well, everything's going with us so far. Keeps up. We shouldn't have any trouble at all. Yeah. Is your wife all right, Mr. Marchand? Yeah, I guess so. She's upstairs. The doctor gave her something to make her sleep. Didn't want it, but he figured it was best. Yeah, sir. Wasn't anything she could do to help. This whole thing's been pretty hard on her. Maybe when it's over, we'll take both kids and go out of town for a vacation and the rest to do it good. Yeah, sir. Been pretty rough on her. I'll get it. Just a minute, Mr. Marchand. Give us a chance to get that other phone. Well, you can use the one in the breakfast room through that door. All right. Now, don't pick up a receiver until you hear me say no. You got it? All right. Any way you say. Can't I answer it now? He might not wait. Just a second. Now. Hello? What? Oh, yes, then. No, no. I can't right now. No. Yeah. Uh-huh. Look, Sam, I'm expecting an important call when I talk to you tomorrow. I'm sorry about it. Yeah, sure. No, no. There's nothing else. Yeah. All right, Sam. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay. Bye. Nicholson, wonder enough I could play golf with him in the morning. Yes, sir. I thought at first it might be the kidnapper. Yeah. It wasn't. I thought, sure, it was him. I wish something would happen. He's waiting. He'll drive me crazy. Now, if we just knew she was all right, that's all if we just knew. Yes, sir. I can just get another phone. Wait, let's see now. I know it's him this time. Now. Hello? Yeah, that's right. No, no. I was in the back of the house. What? No, the line isn't that. No, no, it isn't. I give him my word. Yeah. What about Grace? Is she all right? No, it's here in the house now. That's right. $50,000. Yeah. Wait a minute. I better get a pencil. All right, go ahead. Yeah. Uh-huh. No, I know where it is. Yeah. All right. I'll try and find something. No, I'll find something. Yeah, all right. I'll leave as soon as I can. Uh-huh. No, I won't bring anybody. I swear. Yeah. Will you have Grace there? Hello? Hello? Yeah. You better get started. You got the map? I'll get it. He said Grace was all right. You hear him say that? That's right. He said she was okay. Well, I hope he was telling the truth. Yes, we're sort of weak. You know, I've been a long time, Sergeant, but I guess you'd never forget how. Okay. To pray. The man on the phone had instructed Mr. Marchand to attach a piece of white material to the front of his car and to drive north on Highway 101. He said that near Zuma Beach, he would indicate his presence by flashing the headlights of his own vehicle. Marchand was to pull over to the side of the road and walk halfway to the kidnapper's car. After a wait, the suspect would approach Marchand and take the money. At that time, he'd give us information on the girl's return. 6.10 p.m., all of the cars in the operation were told of the latest developments. We decided that I would hide in the backseat of Marchand's car with a walkie-talkie and keep contact with the other officers. Frank and Captain Powers would be directly behind us in Unit 1K80. As soon as we made contact with the kidnapper, they would try to take the suspect in the custody. The money was wrapped in the brown wrapping paper, and at 6.14 p.m., Marchand and I went out to his garage and got in the car. He drove out Sunset Boulevard to the Pacific Coast Highway and turned right. We drove for about 40 minutes. There was no sign of the kidnapper. Fred wanted Red 2 over. Now we're approaching Zuma Beach. It should be pretty quick now. It's probably just a car up ahead. I can just make it out. Stand by Red 2. I think we made contact. How about him? Yeah. Yeah, I'd say he just flashed his lights. Frank, we just made contact. Better take it easy. Can you see us? He flashed his lights. We're about a half a mile behind you. Right. Red 1 out. Now how about it, Marchand? It's him. He flashed the lights again. Okay, do what he said. Approach slowly. Try to get as close as you can. All right. I'll do exactly what he says. Give him the money and try to find out where your daughter is. Yeah. He's driving off. What? He's leaving. He isn't going to wait. I'm going to stop him. I'll stop him. What are you doing? Hang on. We're going to hit. You all right, Marchand? Yeah, I guess so. I guess I'm all right. Can you get the front one open? I think so. I'll try. I think I can get it open. Right here. Let me through. You all right in there? Hey, is he hurt? I had to stop him. There wasn't any other way he was going to leave. All right. Give me a handle of this door. Yeah, sure. There wasn't any other way he was going to leave. All right. Come on. Leave me alone. Get away from me. Come on. Get out of there. I can't. I think my leg's broken. I can't move it. All right. Tell me what grace he is. Make him tell. Leave me alone. All right. I can't stand it anymore. No, it's grace. Where's my daughter? Where do we get him away from her? I want to know where she is. If you don't make him tell me, I'll do it myself. I'll kill him if he's hit her. I'll kill him right here. All right. Come on. Give me some help. Kill it. Just leave me alone with him. That's all. Just leave me alone. That won't make it any better. Why'd you do it? Why'd you run into me? You tried to take off, didn't you? I got scared. I wanted to get out. I didn't want to go through with it. Is the girl all right? You're going to get me a doctor. You've got to do something. All right. We'll take care of it. How about the girl? Is she all right? Come on, mister. Don't make it any rougher on yourself. What about the girl? I'll make him tell. I don't know. I don't know anything about it. All right. Come on. Now, where's the girl? Is she all right? Answer me. Where is she? She's okay. I didn't touch her. I didn't hurt her at all. Where is she? Hotel downtown. She's okay. Hotel downtown. What hotel? The Piedmont. Room 506. You in this alone? Yeah. Yeah. You all right? Yeah. How about the kid? Piedmont Hotel Room 506. Better get a call out on it right away. I'll take care of it, Frank. Okay, Captain. Hey, Joe, you got a bad cut in your farm. Yeah, it must have been something when we crashed. Yeah, we saw it from back there. We didn't know what was happening. You're going to call an ambulance for me. We'll take care of it. You better do it fast. I don't know how much longer I can stand it. It's broken. I'll never be able to fix it. Never. All right. Let's go. You've got to carry me. I can't walk. I probably won't be able to walk again. You won't have to. I don't want to be in any place. The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent. On September 16th, trial was held in Department 89, Superior Court of the State of California, in and for the county of Los Angeles. Martin Francis Langer was tried and convicted of kidnapping for the purpose of obtaining ransom and received sentence as prescribed by law. On recommendation of the jury, he was sentenced to the state penitentiary at San Quentin, California for the rest of his life. You have just heard Dragon, the authentic story of your police force in action and starring Jack Webb, a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.