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Show oife m mNn to pay eea' Father Goniccc TJith- PoIiGG c:i :! Manhunt Picker Country-Wide Tell-on-Your-Neighbor Campaign Cam-paign Proposed for Clues in Denver . ! Millionaire Abduction DENVER, Colo, Feb. IS An ofler to pay In full the tZ0, 000 ransom demanded for release of her 32-year-old million aire husband, who was kidnaped last night, was made t Mrs. Charles Boettcher XX today. "Nothing else matteri," said Mrs. Boettcher. "IH pay 1 all. X Just want him safe." Meantime the kidnaped man's father conferred wlti Chief of Detectives William J. Armstrong, mapping plans fc) a country-wide "tell-on-your-nelghbor" campaign to obtain clues to the kidnapers' hiding place. Emerging irom tn conierence, in father, Claud K. Boettcher, carried with him th ransom not thrust Into Mrs. Boattcher'a hands by th two kidnapers as they abducted her husband. hus-band. "It's light here In my pocket," mid th elder Boettcher. "Mo on but the highest police officials know what is in it "No contact has been mad with th kidnapers. There is absolutely nothing that can be said at thia time, except that w all bop a vary one having; hav-ing; a suspicious neighbor, or seelni a suspicious person, will call the police po-lice immediately. That seems to bf the only way w can get Charlu back." . Anything tinder heaven was offered of-fered to his kidnapers for the sf return of Charles Boettcher II by nil multimillionaire relatives. "Ther can have anything I have,' declared the social leader's grand lath er, Charles Boettcher I. founder 01 Colorado's giant sugar and cement In dustrtes. "I'll give anything under heaven foi th return of my grandson," ssid thi 7 i-y ear-old, man, quaking wiUt x citement The kidnaped man's father, Claud. K. Boettcher, also tremendoual' wealthy, shared th elder man's sent! nents. Th entire fsmtly feared that Charles' hot-beadedness and general belligerence t w a r d adversaries would place him in greateet peril. His father pointed out that he was ready with his fists on any occasion. Physically powerful, he loved to box for sport or fight when circumstances required. An untimely blow at his csptors easily might causa him to be subject, td to torture, or even death, his lust-Uy lust-Uy feared. Mrs. Boettcher refused to take sleeping sleep-ing powders or get any rest whatever. She was confident in her own mind that the kidnapers would first contact her. and ah wanted a clear head for dealing with eventualities. Airplanes were offered for the sesrch by Msjor Csrlos S. Reavis, commander of th air squadron of th Colorado national guard. Planes wera wheeled Into place at Lowry field, and it was indicated they would take off shortly to observe possible hideouts in th mountains. CHICK OLD KOBBIaUES An entire squad of detectives was reassigned to track down th robbers of th Denver Pi company on Janu-iOontlaaeo' Janu-iOontlaaeo' aa Face Three) JIFE IS READY ' TO PAYRANSOM (Oeaturee rroea raet OmI fry M and two robber la at the Purl-tan Purl-tan Pie company February 4 and I. became sketchy description of one of the kldnaperi tallied with one of the robber. Offerln to pay the ransom. Mrs. Boettcher clarified certain aspects of the kidnaping. Her husband, she aald. returned from visiting his mother in Ksnsas City Saturday night. On Sunday night he took her to dinner din-ner at a hotel, then visited briefly with a friend at the hotel. They took a motor ride later and went to a south Denver restaurant for refreshments. . At 11:10 p. m. they left the res-! r" taurant and drove directly to their home. As they pulled Into the driveway, drive-way, the kidnapers drove up behind them in a mail black sedan without license pistes. One man ran up to the Boettcher machine and ordered the young mil lionalre to throw up his hsnds. ,. Boettcher complied. The calm kleV tiaper noticed an automobile approaching ap-proaching along the street st the side of the Boettcher mansion, and ordered or-dered his victim to drop hi hands until the machine passed. GIVES wrrr. an envelope x Then he gave Mrs. Boettcher an en-velope en-velope containing a typewritten ransoms ran-soms note, before forcing the millionaire million-aire Into the small sedan, backing out to the street and driving away hurriedly. hur-riedly. Mrs. Boettcher telephoned her father-in-law, who lives two blocks away. Th cider Boettcher hurried to bis son's home and summoned police. All the msids at the home hsd the Bight oft. They arrived home, one in a taxlcab, soon sfter the kidnaping Their arrivsl led to false reports thst the kidnspers hsd returned. James Q. Newton, the kidnaped man's business pertner, said the ransom ran-som note, typewritten on white paper, pa-per, was "substantially" as follows: t- "Don't notify the police. Tell Claude Boettcher (th victim's father) he hsd better get $40,000 ransom. He better do business. Follow instructions. instruc-tions. Notify us through a personal ad in the newspapers. Don't forget the Lindbergh bsby would still be alive it the ransom hsd been paid. Insert a personal sd in the newtps-- newtps-- pert stating, 'Ready to com home, please write.' " HIGHEST STRATA The kidnapers struck in the highest high-est strst of Denver business snd society so-ciety in picking young Boettcher ss their prey. He was probably the wealthiest young man in the city. His father and grandfather before him amassed on of th largest fortunes for-tunes in Colorado. The rise of the ftntlly has paralleled the Indus trisl rise of the state. Pursuit was prompt, for Mrs. Boettcher summoned police immediately. immedi-ately. But despite th police, with their sdvsntages of lsrger numbsrt and radio, the criminals apparently made good their escape with their victim. Portland Cement company, and many ether concerns. Detective Inclined most to the theory thst the abduction was aa out-and-out criminal ransom enterprise. BSWABDS EXPECTED Rewards for tha safe return of Boettcher were expected to reach large proportion during th day as director of hi many club and enterprises en-terprises met to consider how best to bring about hi release. Clsude K. Boettcher. his father, offered the first reward, 45000. Police leave were canceled and very available man assigned to the case. Airplanes were expected to be pressed into the search during the dsy. Boettcher wss a flying enthusiast snd his aviator friends were emong the first to offer-their aid. There are many spot Inaccessible except by sir in the mountains near Denver, and the fliers can render valuable service. ser-vice. Police "hdquarters" wr transferred trans-ferred from central station first to the home of the kidnsped men, and than to the home of his fsther. Plans to keep open every possible means of communication for the kidnapers were discussed at a protracted con- about repeal of the state's prohibition laws In last fall's voting. After recovering from her first fright Mrs. Boettcher aided police throughout th night and cared for the couple' only child, Anna Lou, S, despite de-spite her dellcste condition. She is expecting the birth of a second child in about a month. Near-panic engulfed th district Highest rsnking officisl srrlved and departed throughout the night Squad car carrying detectives with shotguns shot-guns whlxsed awsy at Intervcl on mysterious errands, but returned without result Most of the errands were for the purpose of stopping and questioning motorists. Every suspicious car was stopped. All roads were guarded. Picked detective invaded tha haunt of known criminal. Stool pigeons who might hsv beard plans The abductors either possessed authentic au-thentic information as to Boettchex't movements or were lnordinstely lucky. For he hsd returned from Kansas City by slrplsne only a few hours before. He hsd been visiting his mother, Mrs. Mllllson McCormick. Mrs. Boettcher obtained a brief glimpse of on of th kidnaper s he stepped into the light from the shsdows, gun in hand. NO UCENSE PLATES ( He was an American, smooth ihsven Stvd stout She guessed he was about 42 years old, five feet seven inches tall, and weighed perhaps 140 pounds. H wor a sand-colored tweed over-cost over-cost snd cap. Mrs. Boettcher did not see hi confederate, but plainly noted that thsir car waa without license li-cense piste. Th polic radio crsckled Ins true-' true-' tions to pstrol car within ten minutes min-utes after th abduction, but all trscs of th sedan and it occupant vanished van-ished by th tint they arrived. Special Officer Ed Stephana, night watchman of th palatial Boettcher home, and five others in the fashion-' fashion-' able Seventh avenu neighborhood, k was on his bsst block away at th time of th kidnaping. He did not see the kidnspers arrive or depart Apparently no one besides Mrs. Boettcher ssw them. For, 1-though 1-though sll th neighbors were aroused by the arrival of scores of officisl cars none reported seeing or hearing the kidnapers. Friends swarmed to the Boettcher mansion, well nigh overwhelming the kidnsped men's wife, a leader of so-ciety, so-ciety, snd of th force thst brought for the dsrlng crime in the underworld under-world wer ordered into custody. Some were sent for. Others wtre brought in. A theory that th kidnaping may hav been horrible, practical Joke was investigated and discarded. A theory that there may have been some connection with the kidnsplng and a prowler at th homa of Mrs. A. B. Humphreys Jr, aunt of Boettcher Boett-cher end wife of the oil millionaire, also wss discsrded. This prowler, Paul G. Taylor, trusted telephone company employe, convinced authorities author-ities he was prowling solely because he had been drinking. He was released. re-leased. ZEALOUSLY GUARDED The contents of th ransom note was a zealously guarded secret of the police, who refused to confirm of-flclslly of-flclslly thst th note even existed. It wss reliably reported to hsv been hsnded Mrs. Boettcher, however, and tha police motlv in suppressing it wss to forestall any interference with it directions for communication with th kidnapers Theories, of course, were numerous and Included (peculation that one of the thousands of Boettcher employes, past and present held a grudge and conceived the crime for revenge. It would take weeks or months to check all the employes, tor the Bocttchers introduced sugsr beet production in Colorsdo snd th kidnaped man's grandfather was one of the founders of the vest Crest Western Sugsr company. com-pany. Also he ia chairman of the board of the Denver Tramway com-pany, com-pany, the Ideal Cement company, the ferenc. KIdnapara Followad Boattchar, Baliaf DENVER, Feb. U (UP) The conviction con-viction that Charles Boettcber's kidnspers kid-nspers followed him to Denver from Kansas City waa expressed todsy by Eddie Nicholson, son of the former senator and intimate friend of the kidnsped men. "No one in Denver knew that he was returning from his visit with his mother," as id N Icholson. Thst's why I believe the kidnaper followed him from Kansas City." Kidnap Panalty To Ba Incraaaad DENVER, Colo, Feb. 11 (UP) Outraged by the kidnaping for 440.000 ransom of Charles Boettcher II, young Denver millionaire, the house of the Colorado general aaaembly todsy msde a special order of business a bill increasing the penalty for abduction abduc-tion from seven years to lit imprisonment imprison-ment The bill also provide a death penalty pen-alty in the event the kidnaped victim is tortured or killed. It was planned to push it through at th afternoon session. The bill was proposed by Representative Represent-ative A. H. Poppen (D Steamboat Springs) and received Immediate fa vorable action In committee. It also obviates the current necessity neces-sity under Colorado law to prove that the victim was transported across a state line to obtain conviction of kid-n kid-n a pert. |