 The Equitable Life Assurance Society presents, this is your FBI. This is your FBI, an official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. In just a moment, we'll bring you this is your FBI. Every week, millions and millions of people listen to this program. That is proof of national interest in one of our great national services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And the sponsor of this is your FBI. The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States is proud of this national interest in security. For this is the spirit that prompted the Equitable Society's founders 86 years ago to create a life assurance society dedicated to financial security. And today, three and a quarter million members of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States bear witness to the usefulness, strength and stability of an organization that by serving Equitable Society members serves America. Tonight's FBI file, the Swampland Kidnapping. Stretching almost from coast to coast across the southern portion of the state of Florida is the great American jungle known as the Everglades, a vast and uncharted reptile infested area of treacherous cypress swamps and marshlands into which only the most foolhardy would dare to venture without a guide. And as in tonight's case from the files of your FBI, sometimes it can be a grave mistake to venture into the Everglades with the guide. A few miles inland from the Gulf Coast and reached by a crooked chain of stagnant swamplakes is the ramshackle cabin of Tom Blanton and his wife Bess. But little sunlight manages to penetrate the patchwork canopy of intertwining cypress trees. He's fading rapidly now as Blanton makes his way along a footpath between bogs up to the cabin by the back way. You can wash up Tom supper's most ready. Yeah, powerful hungry too. Did you fix up that whole mess of catfish at? Bess? What Tom? You got three plates on the table. Didn't you see his motorboat tied up to the route? I come the back way. Who's boat? We got pretty special company, Tom. What company? Who's come here, Bess? Somebody we ain't seen in a mighty long time. Who you talking to? Now, Tom, don't go getting all... I said, who you talking about? Our boy, Danny. So he came back after I told him not to. Tom, what do you think? Danny's been to all them big cities like Chicago and New York. And he can start back from right now, too. Now, wait, Tom. When I run him off from here, I said it was for good and I meant it best. But Danny's our boy. He ain't none of mine no more. Tom is just here for a visit. Well, he ain't going to stay here another minute, aren't he? Hello, Pop. You're welcome. Most touching. Now, Danny, he don't mean what he said. He was just... You shut up and keep out of his best. Yeah, ma. You keep out. This is between me and the old man. I'm giving you five minutes, Dan. Get your stuff and get out of here. You heard, ma. I come here for a visit and I'm staying for a while. Why, you load-down swamp wreck. Danny, what are you doing with that piston? Stay where you are, Pop. Danny. You're yellow, huh? Have pull a gun on me. I just wanted to stop you with it before I had to hurt you with my hand. And just you put that gun down, we'll see whether you can... Shut up and listen. I didn't come back here because I was dying to see you. What you want here? I've got as much use for you as you have for me. But here, take a look at this. Danny, hold that money. I'll pay for my keep, old man. Here's 50 on account. Look at him grab. Good Lord, there's look. 50 down. And there'll be more where that 50 come from if you don't ask a lot of questions. You mean it? I'm going down to coast tomorrow and I'm bringing a friend back with me for a few days. Who is your friend, Danny? Now, best, best. Look here. You heard what he said about asking questions. Put this up on. Sit right down, son. Make yourself at home. And you called me a swamp red. Shortly after dawn, two mornings later, the well-to-do James J. Fillmore stepped into the small motorboat he had chartered for a day of deep fishing in the gulf. But instead of the craft putting out into the gulf, it cruised long shore for a few minutes. Then suddenly turned into a stream leading back into the swamp country. Mr. Hick, Captain, where are we going? The weather don't look so good for deep fishing, Mr. Fillmore. What? We're going fishing in the Everglades. The Everglades? Look here, young man, you might have consulted me before changing my plans. That might have spoiled my plans, Mr. Fillmore. What? What do you mean? Just take it easy. I've already mailed your wife and Sarah Soda some first instructions. You've done what? Sure. And if she does what I tell her to, everything will be okay with you. Look here, you don't mean you're... That's right, Fillmore. You're going to visit me for a while until your Mrs. buys your bag. Oh, no, you don't. Turn this boat about right now or I'll... Oh, get easy, Fillmore. Mrs. Fillmore? Yes? We're special agents of the FBI. Oh, yes. Please come in. The note instructed me not to call the FBI or the police, but I just can't cope with this alone. You did the proper thing in calling the FBI, Mrs. Fillmore. And you may be sure we shall do nothing that'll further jeopardize the safety of your husband. Poor Jim, if I'd been home, maybe he would have taken me with him and this wouldn't have happened. You were not at home when your husband left? No. I'd been up in Tampa for a few days visiting friends. When did you return? Just last night. I found the note from him saying that he'd gone away on a horrid business trip. Did the note say where he was going? No. No, it didn't. Do you have any idea where he might have gone? No. We come down here every winter. After a few weeks, Jim gets a little restless and goes to call on some of the people with whom he does business. I see. Well, may we have the note, please? Yes. Here you are. Thank you. Hmm. Look, Grant. Sarasota Postmark, mailed right here in the city. Yeah. 6.30 p.m. yesterday. And Mr. Fillmore left home yesterday so the abduction could have taken place right in this vicinity. Not necessarily. Kidnapping could have taken place in Palm Beach or wherever it was Fillmore went. In which case, the kidnapper came back here and mailed the letter. That would certainly be safer for the kidnapper than mailing it from his actual point of operations. What does it say? Your husband's plans have been changed, but do as you are told and he'll be OK. But don't say what I'm to do. Don't call the police or the FBI. Don't get excited. Stay at home. You'll receive further instructions later. Well, what's the first move, Grant? We'll check the note for fingerprints and possible identification. Let's go. Hold us not to ask any questions about him and his friend, Tom. But I reckon the man's got a right best to know what's going on under his own roof. Well, their business is their business and you best leave them alone in there. What you see in the cut on that fella's head seems me. Danny said his friend took a fall in the boot. Well, I don't believe it. Where are you going, Tom? I'm going in there and find out what you're doing. Going somewhere, Pop? Look here, Dan. I want to sit down. Where's that box of writing paper ahead? Let me see now. Here it is, Danny. OK. My friend wants to write a letter. Look here, Dan, I want. I said shut up. If you want any more dough, instead of a dose of lead, you'll stay shut up, OK? OK, Philmore. This time your wife's going to get a letter from you. No, she isn't. Take a sheet of paper out of this box with your own fingers. There's a pencil. I'm not writing any letter to anybody. No. And you won't get away with this. Kidnappers never get away with it. That really frightens me, you know it? Maybe I better turn you loose. If you're smart, you will. OK, Mr. Philmore, I'll turn you loose. All right, you're joking with me, but just say it. No, I'm on a level. You can go. But you'll have to get out of the big cypress swamp all by yourself. And on foot. If I thought you meant that. I said I was on the level. But remember this. I don't know of nobody who ever got out without a guide. No? No. The swamps full of rattlesnakes, cottonmouth moccasins, alligators. We even got lions in there, Mr. Philmore. If one of them don't get you, the wrong step will. What do you mean? Sometimes it looks innocent, just like any other piece of ground till you step on it. And it's got you for keeps. You mean this? Yeah, the bog. You start going down, see? And you start yelling and screaming for help. And all the time it keeps sucking you down, down, down. You yell, you scream louder and louder and louder, and then all of a sudden it's quiet again. You're sunk out of sight. But maybe you can beat the swamp, Mr. Philmore. There's a door you want to try? No. No, of course not. I haven't got a chance. OK, then my services as a guide are going to cost you $50,000. So pick up that pencil and stop writing what I tell you. What, Grant? A ransom note was postmarked in Sarasota, just as the other note was. I felt certain it would be. And the hideout can't be too far away. But we've got no lead to it. I know. And we still can't take any openly offensive action to uncover the hideout until Mr. Philmore is out of danger. No, no, please don't. Are you positive, Mrs. Philmore, that this note was written by your husband? Yes. Yes, it was. I'm positive. And he's pretty certain to be safe so far. But what are we going to do about the ransom? Well, my advice is to follow the instructions in the note in every detail. You mean? There is still time for you to draw the money out of the bank. Yes. Then we'll have it in your mailbox, down at the road, by 10 o'clock tonight, as instructed. It gets supper started before it. Shh, shh, shh, what are you doing? Hush, Hush, Hush. If Danny catches you, listen to it there. I said, Hush, Hush. OK, Philmore, it's time I was startin' for Sarasota. You better come away, shh, shh, listen to it. Listen, they're talking. Wife thought enough of you to leave the $50,000 in the mailbox, like I said. I'll come back and take you out of the swamp. Mr. Money is not fair. I'll come back anyway. And make sure you never get out of the swamp. Well, I'm a lot of this tea in town. You'll fool me the way, because you'll never get away with it. I told you before, kidnappers never get away with it. I'll worry about that, Philmore. You just keep on. He sure ain't going to get away with it, mister. You've been snooping at the door, huh? I sure have, and you? I told you to keep your dirty nose out of my business. I told you, Pa, here I'm OK. So now you know what's going on. And I say you ain't going to get away with it. Don't figure I'm going to the cops, because I'll blast you. But even if you got to the cops, you and I would both be in a jail. What do you mean? After all, your house is a hideout, so you're both in it same as me. Why, you low-down crawling piece of shit, and don't try to get your gun off that chair, because I'm closer to it than you are to it. You killed him, Tom. Danny! You killed him, Tom. I reckon it was him or me. I'm sorry it had to turn out this way, sir. But in doing so, it has brought me my freedom. So the least I can do is see to it that you are amply rewarded. I reckon that won't be necessary, mister. What do you mean? I mean, we're going to collect that $50,000 now. In New England today, April 19th is Patriots Day. Before returning to the case on the Swampland kidnapping, let me tell you what Patriots Day should mean to Americans. This week, at the Equitable Society, four famous lines from Emerson kept running through my mind. Lines written about something that happened on the 19th of April, 1775, the Battle of Lexington. The day right after Paul Revere's ride. By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled. Here once, the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world. Those heroic lines in praise of self-reliant men make your heart beat faster, don't they? And they should, because self-reliance is an American quality that is just as priceless today as it was in 1775. It's the backbone of the American way of life. And just to prove that it's still a factor in our country's progress, let me give you the number of people who belong to the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. It's three and a quarter million. Three and a quarter million people, men and women who have proved that they believe in taking care of themselves and their families by their own efforts. That's self-reliance for you. That's proof of thrift and cooperation, too. Together, these three and a quarter million people have built the Equitable Life Assurance Society into a fortress of financial strength. They've put together a great protective fund which gives each member far more security than he could achieve individually. They're carrying on that tradition, which enables us to say that this week and every week for more than 86 years, the Equitable Society is building security for you, your home, and your country. And now back to the FBI file, the Swampland Kidnapping. In following its policy and kidnapping cases of remaining quietly in the background during the ransom negotiations, the FBI greatly handicaps itself in the task of apprehending the criminal. But to the FBI, the safe return of the victim has right of way over all other considerations. After that, there is time enough to catch the criminal. And as the victim in tonight's case said, kidnappers never get away with it. Several hours have passed now since Tom Blanton shot down his son Dan during their fight in the Blanton Cabin deep in the Big Cypress Swamp where the kidnapped victim, James Fillmore, is being held. Just outside of Sarasota, the old house on the Fillmore is status dark and seems deserted. But at the front window, three figures keep silent and constant vigil. The only sounds the rustle of the night breeze through the palm trees and the roll of the surf a hundred yards away. Can you see the dial on your watch, Grant? Two minutes of 10. Two minutes to go. He will come at 10, like he said, won't he? The note said only to have the money in the mailbox at the road by 10. But surely that means he planned to pick it up at that time? Well, we can only wait and see. But what if it doesn't come for the money? This crime's been committed for money, Mrs. Fillmore. I'm confident somebody will come for it. If they don't make it by 10, Grant, how much time? Shh. Listen. What was it? Oh, it hurt. Thank heaven. Don't leave us make a move now. Watch the mailbox now. I wish there were a moon. Somebody's getting out. Yeah. Can't tell anything about it from here, though. Just a shadow. Listen. He's opening the mailbox. What are you young men waiting for? What do you mean? Aren't you going out then? Catch him. Oh, no. What do you mean you're going to let him get away? We meant to let him get away, Mrs. Fillmore. Your husband is not out of danger yet. It's our job first to get your husband back and then to catch the kidnapper. I think it's safe now to go down and take a look at the mailbox. I think so. Let's go. Did you get it, Bess? Was it there? Let's get in the house out of this rain. Oh, now you're into my little rain now, Bess girl. We're rich. The little rain looks like it's been raining here ever since I left. Now, Bess, don't go getting cantankerous. I'm holding you to your promise, Tom. You promised to take me out in this swamp if I'd done what you told me to do tonight. Well, I will now. Come on. Well, I trust your mission was successful, sir. Sure thing. Bess found the money just like you said. And now that I bought my freedom? You ain't got another worry, mister. Now you might as well go to bed and get yourself a good night's sleepin'. Go to bed? Ain't gonna take you out in a swamp till morning. That's for sure. But you will then. Oh, sure. Me and my woman will be going away then ourselves. Very well. Good night, mister. I have to turn him loose, same as you, but take it safe. What you mean? He knows who we are now, and you tell the police all about us. And no matter where we go, they'll be looking for us. Yeah. Sure, you're right, Bess. We can't let him go. But what are we going to do with you? Don't you worry now. I'll figure that out come morning. And I think I got an idea already. You must go to bed, Mrs. Philmore, and try to get a night's sleep. I won't sleep awake, Mr. Grant, until my husband is back home safely. Well, the note said he would be returned by morning. But what if something goes wrong? Oh, you mustn't think of that. Things do go wrong in these cases. I know them. I got a good picture of the kidnapper, Grant. Good. Picture? Yes, Mrs. Philmore. We had planted an infrared camera in the mailbox. What? And it automatically took a picture of the person who opened the mailbox to get the money. And it was a woman, Grant. A woman? Here you are. Look, I'm wearing a raincoat. I already checked on that, and I got our first big lead. What do you mean? I figured wherever she drove in from, it was raining. Well, I checked for the weather bureau, and the only place it's been raining tonight is down in the Big Cypress Swamp area. Cypress Swamp, huh? Is your husband a fisherman, Mrs. Philmore? Yes, he loves to fish. Has he ever gone fishing in the Everglades? Yes, he has at a town called Everglades. Now we're getting somewhere. Come on, Monroe. That's where we're going. Are you the innkeeper? Yes, sir. We're special agents of the FBI. Oh, what can I do for you? Do you know of Mr. James J. Philmore? Well, yes. He come down here a couple of days ago for a little fishing. But you haven't seen him since? No, sir. Something wrong? Whose boat did he charter? Well, now you got me there. I know the regular charter boats was all busy. Must have made a deal with one of the private boats. Would you know which one? Let me see, you know. Couldn't have been Charlie Bates. He just sold his little outfit a couple of days ago. Who bought it? I think he said he sold it to Dan Blanton. He's been away a long time, Dan has. Just come back a couple of days ago. Where does Blanton live? Well, his folks got a cabin back in the swamps a few miles, maybe they know him. Could we get there tonight? Couldn't possibly start for daylight. Even then, you need a guide, you know. I see. Do you recognize the woman in this picture? Yeah, let me see, sir. Well, sure, sure. That's old Tom Blanton's wife, Bess. Why? You rustle us up a boat and a guide, and you'll find out why. We hope. Come on out, mister. Bess and me is ready to get going now. It's the middle of the night. I thought you said we couldn't leave before morning. No, we ain't all going. What? You see, Bess and me was talking it over, and we decided, since you know all about us, who we are, and what we look like, and all. Well? We decided we wouldn't be safe first to turn you loose. Look here, you've got the money. What else do you want? Just like I said, we can't turn you loose. What do you mean? I mean, we've got to leave you behind. No, no, you can't do that. I'd never get out of here on foot alone. We ain't aiming for you to get out, doll. What? Better go in the other room, Bess. Well, you're wasting time, Tom. Get it over with. No, wait a minute. If the money you've got is not enough, I'll give you more. It's just like she said, we're wasting time. We can't take a chance on leaving you here alive. No, no. For heaven's sake, you can't do that, too. Stand back, Bess. I'm going to. No, no. Drop that gun, Latin. Who here would come bustin' in here like special agents of the FBI, and I said to drop that gun? I ain't aiming to drop no gun for no. Here, take his gun, Monroe. Are you all right, Mr. Fillmore? Yes. Thanks to you gentlemen. There seems to be one member of the party missing. Where's your son, Mrs. Blanton? His father here shot him and threw his body in a swamp bug. And that's what these two are about to do with me. All right, get out from there, Blanton. My wife. Is she all right? We telephone. She'll be waiting in Everglades for you when we come out of the swamp. Let's go. After having been tried for the murder of their son, Thomas Blanton and his wife Bess were both convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair. There have been some abduction cases, such as the one you have just heard, in which the criminals were afraid to release their victims because of the information they could furnish the FBI or the police. The stupidity of this reasoning should be obvious. To add murder to the crime of abduction is to furnish one more indelible clue, which serves only to shorten the criminal's road to inevitable justice. Before telling you about next week's exciting case, let me remind you again that just as you look to your FBI for national security, so to the equitable society, you look for the financial security of life insurance. Yes, like the FBI agent, the equitable society representative in your community is a specialist on the subject of security. His job is to preserve homes, to help keep children in school, and to make old age a time of happiness and contentment. It's a good job. And one that is one for him the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, who recognize his contribution to the security of you, your home, and your country. Next week, we will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the salesman of Espionage. The incidents used in tonight's equitable life assurance societies broadcast are adapted from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious. And any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Tonight's broadcast was directed by William M. Sweets. The music was under the direction of Frederick Steiner, the author was Frank Ferris, and your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a gerrydivine production. Now, this is Carl Frank speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States will bring you another colorful story from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the salesman of Espionage. On this is your FBI. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.