The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Fatima cigarettes, best of all long cigarettes, brings you Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. A newborn baby is taken from a hospital nursery. There's no trace of the infant. There's no trace of the abductor. Your job. Find them. You'll be amazed when you compare Fatima with other long cigarettes. Buy a pack of Fatimas. You'll find they now cost the same. Light a Fatima. Your first puff will tell you. Ah, that's different. Yes, what a difference. In Fatima, the difference is quality. You see, Fatima is the quality king size cigarette because it contains the finest Turkish and domestic tobaccos superbly blended. And Fatima is extra mild with a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. Because of its quality, its extra mildness, its better flavor and aroma, Fatima has more than doubled its smokers coast to coast. Try comparing Fatima yourself. Fatimas now cost the same as other long cigarettes, but your first puff will tell you. Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima the difference is quality. Ask your dealer for Fatima, the quality king size cigarette, best of all long cigarettes. Start enjoying Fatima tomorrow. Dragnet, the documented drama of an actual crime. For the next 30 minutes in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, you will travel step by step on the side of the law through an actual case transcribed from official police files. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Dragnet is the story of your police force in action. It was Thursday, January 28th. It was raining in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of homicide. My partner's Ben Romero, the boss's Captain Steed. My name's Fryden. It was 11.35 p.m. when we got to Mercy Hospital on Norwich Avenue, the main entrance. Better check at the desk. Yeah. 2B, right away on the... 2B, Wayne. Yes, sir? Police officers, we received a call from the hospital here. Oh, yes, sir, right this way, please. Yes, ma'am. Dr. Walsh is waiting for you. Is he the man in charge? Oh, no, Dr. Walsh is the head of the hospital. I see. Please, Dr. Walsh. All right, come in, please. Come in. Thank you, ma'am. Yes, sir. Dr. Walsh. How do you do? This is my partner, Sergeant Romero. My name's Fryden. Yes, sir. I've been waiting for you. Have a seat, please. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Gentlemen, I just got here a few moments ago myself. No doubt you know as much about this as I do. We were notified that a three-day-old baby's missing. Is that correct? Yes, one of the Stryker twins. The bond used Tuesday morning. Where'd the baby disappear from, doctor? The nursery. I can't understand how it could happen. I've never heard of such a thing. Who was in charge of the nursery? Nurse O'Connor. She's back with the superintendent of nurses. Quite upset. Would you like to talk to her? Yes, sir, we would. All right. Thank you. I can't understand it. How could a baby disappear like that? Have the parents been notified? Father's on his way in now. He hasn't told the mother yet. Mm-hmm. When did they first notice the baby was gone? I understand it was around 11 p.m. Call came into our office about 11.20. Go ahead, Sergeant. Nurse O'Connor? Yes, Dr. Walsh. These gentlemen are from the police department. Sergeant Romero, Sergeant Fryden. Oh, he may be. What did he do? He wanted to know all about what happened tonight. You know, of course, it's a serious matter. Try to tell exactly how it happened. I'll try, doctor. All right, officer. Thank you. Well, we know that you're probably pretty upset, nurse. Now you just relax and take your time. Yes, sir. When did you first notice that the Stryker baby was missing? Must have happened somewhere between 11 o'clock and 10 minutes past 11. I'm sure of that. How are you sure of that? I came on duty a few minutes before 11. I took the night reports as usual, and then I started checking the orders and the formulas. I remember very well that both the Stryker twins were in their cribs at that time. Mm-hmm. Go on, please. I think it must have been about five minutes past 11 when I got this phone call from home. My mother's been sick lately. It was about her. How far did you have to go to answer the phone? About 10 feet down the hall from the nursery, just around the corner. Could you see the entrance to the nursery from where you were talking on the phone? No, sir, I couldn't. I was only on the phone for a minute or two. As soon as I hung up, I came right back to the nursery. Was the telephone call actually from your mother? Yes, sir. My mother has a heart condition. She wanted me to be sure and have a prescription filled. What time was it when you got back to the nursery, owner? Can you remember that? It wasn't quite 10 minutes past 11, so I came back through the door into the nursery and noticed right away one of the cribs was empty. One of the Stryker twins was gone. Is there more than one entrance to the nursery, Miss O'Connor? Yes, sir, there are two entrances, but at night one of them's kept locked. Mm-hmm. Is it possible that somebody in the hospital, maybe a doctor, took the baby for examination or some kind of treatment? No, sir. Just as soon as I noticed the baby was gone, I went to the head nurse, and the two of us contacted everybody in the hospital. No one knew anything about it. Well, is it possible that the child's mother could have come down from the second floor and taken the baby? No, sir. Miss Stryker's been asleep since 10 o'clock. She's still asleep. Are there any other nurses or attendants working near the nursery when the baby disappeared? No. No reason for anyone besides myself to be around at that time. None of the cleaning people. They'd all gone home. Dr. Walsh, I wonder if we could have a look at the nursery now. Certainly, sir, I'd want Nurse O'Connor to come along. Yes, would you please? Yes, sir. This way, gentlemen. It's your town hall. What are the hospital visiting hours, doctor? The usual. 204 in the afternoon, 7 to 9 in the evenings. Quite strict about that. Do you know if all the visitors had left the hospital by 9 o'clock tonight? Of course I wasn't here, but the superintendent of nurses told me they had all left by 9. She's compiling a list of every visitor we had this evening. Good. They'll all have to be checked. Nursery's right here, officers. Mm-hmm. This empty crib just inside the window here. Yes, sir. It's where the baby was. You can see it's right next to the door here. I noticed that there's no blanket in the crib. Is that missing too? Yes, sir. The crib's just the way I found it when I came back from the telephone. I haven't touched it. Are there any marks of identification on the blanket or the clothing? Each one's stenciled. Mercy Hospital. Each baby wears an ID bracelet. Doctor, I wonder if we could have that crib brought out to have a check for possible fingerprints. Certainly, of course. Is this the other door to the nursery you mentioned, Mr. Conner? That's right, Sergeant. I checked it. It's locked. That large window on the other side of the nursery. Is that a stationary window? Yes, sir, it is. It faces onto a small court. Well, then whoever took the baby had to use this door. It's the only way they could have gotten in. Oh, excuse me a minute. I want to attend to the baby in there. Sure. Listen now, Jim. Yeah. Doctor, are there any other entrances open at night besides the main one? Not after 10 p.m. No. Just the main entrance. I know which one. There's a nurse on duty there at all times. How about the parents? Is there anything unusual there? No. Father's a working man. Mother's a housewife. Both the babies are perfectly normal. Nothing unusual at all. Three-day-old baby. They usually take a lot of careful handling, don't they? Yes, definitely. First week's always critical. And this thing, taking a three-day-old infant out in this weather, cold, rain. I'm afraid the odds are all against the child. You're sure the main entrance was the only one open after 10 o'clock? Yes. I can't understand it. How could anyone get that baby out of that hospital? How could they? We're not sure they did. Midnight. Three-day-old twin boy was missing from his crib in the hospital nursery. That's all we knew. We checked the list of possibilities. The baby could have been taken for ransom. Somebody wanted revenge on the Stryker family and decided on the baby as the best means. Maybe someone just wanted a child. Someone mentally unsound, a maniac, a pervert. Maybe an accident had happened at the hospital. Somebody wanted to cover up. Possibly one of the parents or their families had a motive. Perhaps somebody just wanted the child dead. We called the office and got out an APB on the Stryker baby and a description of the blanket and the clothing. Details of officers were alerted at the bus depots, railroad terminals, the airports, all public transportation facilities. Steps were taken to notify doctors, hospitals, sanitariums, anybody in any place where a three-day-old baby might be taken. The entire area around Mercy Hospital was canvassed. No information. The baby's crib was dusted for prints. No leads, no physical evidence. The investigation continued. When George Stryker, the father of the child, arrived, Ben and I met with him in the office of the hospital superintendent. Can we let people know about it? Newspapers and the radio? We've already covered that. Stories and pictures have gone out to the papers. We've notified the radio stations. They're getting our broadcast on. How am I going to tell my wife? Well, sir, there's only one thing that we can promise you. We'll do everything we can to find your baby. Well, isn't there something I can do? Isn't there some way I can help? This is just a remote possibility, Mr. Stryker, but you ought to know about it. What's that? In case anybody contacts you regarding your baby, in case they make any demands on you for money or anything else, we want you to notify us immediately. What could they expect to get from us? We own our home. That's about all. We just want to cover all the possibilities, Mr. Stryker. In case any demand at all is made, don't try to deal with the people, all right? Yes, sir, I understand. Sergeant? Yeah? One of the men from Homicide like to see outside, Sergeant, will leave us alone. Thank you, doctor. We'll have to go now, Mr. Stryker. We'll keep you informed. All right, thank you. Joe? Yeah, I'll leave us. Think we got something back here? Yes. And seen us and I with a night watch went out back to the side of the hospital that faces on Stacy Avenue. Yeah. Two doors back there just off the street. One of them's open. Together with Sergeant Believis and Dr. Walsh, the head of the hospital, we went back and examined the side door which opened onto Stacy Avenue. The latch was obviously foley. It took only slight pressure on the door to open it. The latch, both doorknobs and the door itself were dusted for prints. The entrance way and the immediate area were rechecked. No leads, no physical evidence. We traced an imaginary path from the open door to the nursery. We came to the conclusion that it could have been possible for an abductor to enter the hospital, make his way to the nursery, take the child from its crib in the absence of the night nurse, and leave by the same side door without being seen. Storekeepers and residents along Stacy Avenue were re-questioned. We got nowhere. When the abduction story broke in the newspaper and over the radio the next morning, the calls started to come in. People in practically all sections of the city thought that they'd seen the missing baby. Each call was carefully checked out. None of them paid off. Ten a.m. We checked back in at the office. I must be getting old, Joe. Can't seem to take these all-night sessions like I used to. I'm pretty tired. I drank too much coffee again. I got a sour stomach. Hi. Hi, Elizabeth. Hi. The stats office come up with that run for us yet? No, they're still working on it. How about that San Bernardino call? Yeah, they called back. They picked the woman up when she got off the bus, checked her and the baby out. Baby belongs to her. Anything else come in? All been checked out. The press called again. Want to know if there are any new leads. Sergeant Friday in here? Yes, sir. Can I help you? They told me in the business office to come down and see you. Surely. Come on in. Thanks. My name's Wallace. I'm the desk clerk down at the hotel on 11th Street, Bluebird Hotel. Yes, sir. I got some information. I'd like to talk to you. All right, sir. This is my partner Sergeant Romero. This is Sergeant Olivas. How are you? I'm well, sir. Wallace. What's the information about? Well, I got hold of a paper this morning. Read about that baby that's missing. Yes, sir. Imagine those people are pretty worried about the kid. Guess they'd like all the information they can get, huh? Looks like that hospital's in the jam, wouldn't you say? Well, what information do you have, Wallace? I guess those parents could sue the hospital if they wanted to, huh? Well, sir, all we're interested in is finding the baby. Can you help us there? Well, I don't know for sure. What are you trying to tell us? Have you seen the baby? Well, I may have. Do you happen to know if they're offering any reward for information? Well, I don't know where it'd come from. The father's a working man. Oh, don't get me wrong, Sergeant. I don't expect anything for any information I'd give them. Well, I don't make too much at the hotel. You know, if they wanted to show their gratitude in some way, just thought I'd mention it. Well, thank you, Wallace. Don't worry about that. Now, what's the information? Well, you know, I didn't mean anything by that. Anybody be glad to help out in a case like this. What I came in to tell you was a woman and a young baby checked in the hotel last night when I was on duty. What time? I think it was about 12 o'clock. The woman didn't have any baggage or anything, one little blanket around the kid. When I saw that story in the paper this morning, I got suspicious. Was the woman still registered at the hotel? She was. When I left, that was about an hour ago. What name did she register under, do you remember? No, I don't, but it's in the register. You can check it if you want. Where is the hotel? 11th and Charleston, right in the corner. I'm sure it must be the kid you're looking for. Say, I hope you haven't got me wrong. How do you mean? About the reward, you know. I don't expect anything for this. We haven't got you wrong. At 35 a.m. it was still raining. Together with the desk clerk Wallace, we drove to the Bluebird Hotel on 11th Street. We checked the cards at the desk and found that the woman had registered under the name of Mrs. Harold Parks. The clerk on duty told us as far as he knew she was still in the room with the baby. The room is down this way, Sergeant. Okay. This is 116. Mrs. Parks. Mrs. Parks. You have a passkey with you, Wallace. Here you go. Thank you. There's nobody here. Wait a minute. What have you got? Small blanket. Check the lettering. Mercy Hospital. You are listening to Dragnet. Authentic stories of your police force in action. Oh, no. Ah, that's different. Yes, what a difference. There's a difference you can hear. There's a difference you can see. But the difference in Fatima is quality. Yes, friends. When you compare long cigarettes, you'll find that in Fatima the difference is quality. Quality of tobaccos, the finest Turkish and domestic varieties, extra mild and superbly blended to give you a much different, much better flavor and aroma than any other long cigarette. Quality of manufacture. Smooth, plump cigarettes rolled in the finest paper money can buy. Quality even to the appearance of the bright, clean yellow package. Carefully wrapped and sealed to bring you Fatima's rich, fresh, extra mild flavor. Fatima's now cost the same as other long cigarettes, but your first puff will tell you. Ah, that's different. Yes, in Fatima the difference is quality. Ask your dealer for Fatima, the quality king-size cigarette. Best of all, long cigarettes. Start enjoying Fatima tomorrow. Friday, January 29th, 11 a.m. We were unable to locate the woman who had registered at the hotel under the name of Mrs. Parks. There was no sign of the baby. The blanket we found in the room was identified by hospital personnel as the same type used in the nursery. The room was checked for fingerprints and physical evidence. We found nothing. People in the adjoining rooms were questioned, but they could give us no information. We got a description of the woman who used the name Mrs. Parks from the desk clerk and we got out an all-points bulletin on her. Her hotel registration card was checked for handwriting and fingerprints. Captain Steed ordered an immediate canvas of all hotels, apartments, and rooming houses in the central area. The hotel clerks were shown mugshots of possible suspects. They failed to identify any of them. 3 p.m. Friday, the search for the striker baby went on. Yeah, checked out all right. Okay, Gilfent. Anything? Gil and Zanis, check that Wilshire calls another phone. My name's John Lassos. Yeah? Roos and I were making the rounds of hotels out along Kiko. Stopped at a drug store for a cup of coffee. We talked to Druggist while we were there. He had a pretty good story for us. You got a light? Yeah. Here you go. Thanks. This drug store is two blocks from the hotel where the woman stayed. It's open all night. Druggist told us the woman answering this Mrs. Parks description came in about 1 p.m. Bought a whole raft of stuff. How do you mean? What kind of stuff? Everything for a baby. Bottles, nipples, dextrose, oil powder, you know, all that stuff. Was he sure of the woman's description? He gave it to us before we'd even mention what this Mrs. Parks looked like, right down to the color of her coat. Did she have the baby with her when she bought this stuff? Druggist said no. She even asked him if she could buy canned milk there. Where does it lead? How do you mean? Does he have any idea where the woman came from, where she went? No, but he said if she came back in again, he'd call us right away. He's going to notify the other clerks too. They'll keep us posted when he turns up. I got it. Homicide Friday. My name's Mrs. Lucy. I'm calling about that missing baby in the paper. Am I talking the right department? Yes, ma'am. Do you have any information on the case? I certainly have. I know where that striker baby is right now. Where's that, ma'am? Right next door. The Salazar's have him. What makes you so sure? It's perfectly obvious. That's all. It's not their baby. Why do you say that? That baby they have no more looks like Mr. Salazar. Mrs. Salazar and mine do. How do you mean, Mrs. Lucy? It's very simple. Mr. Salazar is dark, quite dark. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexion. His wife's the same way. Yes, ma'am. The baby they have is a blonde. Before I hung up, I got the woman's name and address and told her that we'd check out our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Salazar. We weren't sure what it meant. It could be the real thing. It could be like a hundred other calls that we'd had in the last 12 hours. Ben and I got in the car and drove out to the Salazar home on Wonderland Avenue. We noticed several cars parked in the driveway and in front of the house. We went up the front stairs and rang the doorbell. Yes, sir? Come on in, please. Would you like to speak to Mr. Salazar? Yes, sir. That's me. Come on in. Thank you. Come inside. Let me fix you a drink. You're late, huh? No, thank you. We're police officers, Mr. Salazar. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Oh? What's the matter? Are we making too much noise for the neighbors? No, it's not that, sir. Just like to ask you a few questions. Some place we can talk. Well, I have to take care of the guests, you know. We have this party here. My son was baptized today, my first son. That's why we're having a party. Yes, sir. We're sorry to interrupt, but this is pretty important. It won't take very long. Well, all right. I guess I can get along for a few minutes. Back here in the kitchen. It's probably the quietest place. Fine. Back this way, officer. Fine. Over there. Pull up a couple chairs. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Salazar, this is my partner, Sergeant Romero. My name's Friday Homicide. Yes, sir. What's the matter? What do you want to ask me? We're investigating a case that involves a missing baby, sir. The one in the paper this morning. I read about that. It's a terrible thing, isn't it? Yes, sir, it is. We've had a report that the missing baby was seen in this neighborhood. We don't know how true it is, but we have orders to check it out. Well, sure, anything I can do. I don't know how much I can help, but I can understand how that mama and papa feel. My brand new son, I know how I'd feel. How old is your son, Mr. Salazar? He's just one week old this afternoon. Fine boy. Was the baby born here in Los Angeles? No, I sent my wife Roberta to Phoenix to have a baby. We thought it'd be a lot healthier for her down there. She has a good friend of hers in Phoenix. Oh, I see. Your wife had the baby in Phoenix, and then she brought him back here. Yes, that's right. Roberta came in early this morning. Big surprise for me. I didn't know she was coming. Right away, I called all our old friends. I called Father De Soto for the baptism, and I got things ready for the party. Big baptism party. You say your wife got back early this morning? Yes, a few minutes after three o'clock. Roberta came in on the plane. She said it was late. You know, a big storm. I wonder if we could talk to your wife, Mr. Salazar. Well, Roberta's taking a little nap right now. She's out in late, you know, all the excitement. Do we have to wake her up? Well, no, sir, not right away. I just wonder if we could see the baby. Well, the baby's sleeping, too. Roberta said not to go in, but... Well, if you're real quiet... Yes, sir, will be. Okay, he's right back here. Over here. Let me pull the blanket down. There he is. Big fella, huh? He's blonde. Huh? What do you think, you know? I think he's got a twin. Five p.m., Harland Stahl from Leighton Fingerprints arrived at the Salazar home. The footprint of the missing child taken at the time of birth was compared with the print from the child the Salazars had. The prints were identified as the same as the child's. The missing baby had been found. Five twenty p.m. Ben and I talked with Mrs. Salazar in the kitchen of her home. The christening party went on. I don't think I understand what this is all about, officer. What has my baby got to do with all this? You know as well as we do, Mrs. Salazar, that baby in there doesn't belong to you. It's not yours. What do you mean it's not mine? Of course it's my baby. My husband said mine. I just brought him from Phoenix last night. That's where the baby was born. What are you trying to do to me? That baby isn't yours, Mrs. Salazar. Now you know that. It was taken from the hospital. How about the truth? You don't know what you're saying. You don't know what you're talking about. It's my baby. He was baptized today. He went to my Salazar. It's my baby. This is a pretty serious matter, ma'am. The baby's footprint has been checked out. The child belongs to a Mrs. Stryker. We want to know how you happened to know that. Because he's my baby. That's why I have him. You don't know what a mistake you're making. He's my baby. I brought him from Phoenix last night. You can ask my husband. He'll tell you. A woman checked in at the Bluebird Hotel on 11th Street about midnight last night, Mrs. Salazar. She had a young baby with her. You fill her description. I didn't go to a hotel last night. The plane landed here from Phoenix. I came right home. The hotel clerk remembers you. He can identify you. So can the druggist when you bought the supplies, Ron. I bought nothing. The plane landed. I came home. He's my baby. He's my baby. We found the baby's blanket in the hotel room you rented. We have your description from at least three people, even the color of the coat you wore last night. You can't take him away. He belongs to me. Me and friend, you can't take him away. Please, you can't. Mrs. Salazar, why don't you put yourself in the place of the real mother of that baby? How do you think she feels about her baby being taken away? How about it, Mrs. Salazar? Have a drink, officer, please. For the party. Have a drink, I'll tell you. Tell us what, ma'am? I'm tired. Let me sit down. Here you are. It's for a few minutes. I'll tell you how it happened. I know you... you understand. Yes, ma'am. It'll be 11 years next month that Frank and I were married. I don't have to tell you, we want a baby. Frank always wanted a baby. But no more than I did. It's what we live for. A baby of our own. Yes, ma'am. Boy or girl, we didn't care. But we didn't have one. For 11 years, we didn't have one. But we didn't have one. For 11 years, we didn't have one. But last April, that's when the doctor told me. He said I was going to have a baby. He said I was going to have a baby. Yes, ma'am, I understand. Well, a month before the baby was born, we thought it would be better if I went to my friend's place in Phoenix, our son. For the winter, you know, it would be warmer there. And Frank thought it would be nicer for me and the baby. Your husband was still in Los Angeles? Yes, he tried to come to Phoenix, but he had to work, so I had my baby alone. I had my baby alone. It was a boy. My friend was with me. She'll tell you it was a boy. Yes, ma'am. I kept calling for him to bring my baby. I kept calling for him to bring my baby. It was a long time I kept calling. Then they finally came. And the doctor, too. And here's the one that told me. Yes, ma'am. He looked just like his father. I know that. But they told me he was dead. But they told me he was dead. I don't remember much after that, Sergeant. I got out of the hospital and then I took the plane and I came back here. It was dark and it was raining. But I walked around. I walked up and down the streets thinking, what could I tell Frank? Baby was dead. That's all I could tell him. Baby was dead. That's all I could tell him. Then I walked past the hospital. Then I walked past the hospital. That was Mercy Hospital, no? Yes. And it was raining. And I could see all those babies inside. Warm and in their cribs. And I wanted just one of them. And I wanted just one of them. Just one. Just one. For Frank and me. So I went in the side door and I found the nursery. The nurse was gone. I took him and left. I took him and left. My baby. I went to the hotel to keep him out of the rain. I went to the hotel to keep him out of the rain. And when it cleared a little, I took him home. I took him home to Frank. I took my baby home. I took my baby home. That's why you want my baby, isn't it? Because I took him? Because my baby died and I took him? Because my baby died and I took him? Everything will be alright, Miss Salazar. I think we can straighten it out. Roberta? You talked to the officers? Frank, what do you want me to say? Frank, what do you want me to say? It'll be alright, officers. Won't everything be alright? Yes, sir. I think we can work it out. What could I tell you, Frank? What could I tell you, Frank? What was there to say to you? It's alright, honey. It's alright. I'll go out and tell the people now. I'll go out and tell the people now. And what can you say? What can you tell them? The party's over. It was just a mistake. The story you have just heard was true. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent. In a moment, the results of the trial. Now here is our star, Jack Webb. Thank you. Last week I asked you to write me if your cigarette dealer was out of Fatimas. You did, and we've done something about it. Now if any more of you find a dealer fresh out of Fatimas, send me his name and address. We'll take care of that, too. Write me, Jack Webb, Post Office Box 951, Hollywood 28. And Mr. Dealer, don't wait another day. Step up your Fatima order for Thanksgiving and the coming holidays. Get in on the increasing demand for Fatima. The quality long cigarette. Roberta Salazar was examined by six psychiatrists and was ordered to be placed in a state mental institution for treatment. The You have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases portions transcribed from official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief of Police W.H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department. Coming up, We the People, then Screen Director's Playhouse on NBC.
