Access to this collection is generously supported by Arcadia funds. Access to this collection is generously supported by Haynes Foundation funds. William F. Gettle, Beverly Hills millionaire, was kidnapped from the grounds of his Arcadia ranch home during a housewarming party on the eve of May 9th. The kidnapping attracted a great deal of attention in the community, with Mrs. Gettle even addressing the kidnappers through the pages of the Los Angeles Times. The kidnappers demanded a $60,000 ransom for the return of Gettle, which Mrs. Gettle agreed to pay. However, before the ransom was paid, two detectives of the LAPD, Chester Burris and H.P. Gearhardt, broke the case after installing a dictaphone in the home of a bank robbery suspect. Information from the dictaphone led them to a La Crescenta home where Gettle was held. He was returned, unharmed, to his family on the eve of May 14th. A picture of a photograph of the bungalow surrounded by trees and open lawn. Text from negative sleeve: GETTLE, WILLIAM F. KIDNAP CASE 2 Text from newspaper caption on story with similar photo provides the address of the Arcadia house: [T]he house at 279 West Foothill Boulevard, Arcadia, from where Gettle was kidnaped (Wide World photo). Text from newspaper caption: Figures and Scenes in Abduction Inquiry Ernest E. Noon, at the left, above, attorney for the family of William F. Gettle, kidnaped Beverly Hills millionaire, has, at the request of Mrs. Gettle and law enforcement representatives of the city and county, complete charge of the effort to have the millionaire returned safely and to pay whatever ransom the Gettle abductors demand (Associated Press photo.) In the next tier are, above, the patio of the Gettle home in Beverly Hills where press headquarters have been established during the feverish days of the case and, below, is the newly built recreation hall at the Arcadia estate from which Gettle was kidnaped. Next is Rags, blooded Scottie, a favorite of the abducted magnate, pining for the return of his master. At the right is an Associated Press photo of William F. Gettle in his Shrine uniform. Similar photo of house appears with the article, “Gettle Lawyer's Data May Identify Client’s Kidnapers: He Returns From Mystery Trip and Declares ‘Important Information’ Received; Victim's Wife Authorizes Meeting Any Ransom Demand,” Los Angeles Times, 11 May 1934: 1.
Type
image
Format
b&w nitrate negative
Identifier
uclamss_1429_4885 ark:/21198/zz002ctt21
Language
No linguistic content
Subject
Kidnappings--California
Source
Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection OpenUCLA Collections
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