Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. Dragnet. You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a juvenile detail. A 13 year old girl has disappeared from her home. There's reason to suspect foul play. Your job, investigate. It was Saturday, April 17th. Was cold in Los Angeles. We were working the night watch out of juvenile detail. My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Powers. My name's Dragny. I was on my way back from the fourth floor and it was 11 52 p.m. when I got down to the main floor. Squad room. That's you, John? Yeah. How'd it go? Oh, not too good. Did he say anything? No. He says we got him for the job, but it's gonna end there. He's playing the big man now. He says he's not gonna name that other kid. Yeah. I'll let him sweat it out tonight. He'll feel different in the morning, maybe. I hope you're right. Anything come in? Uh-uh. As soon as I finish up this log, we can shove off if you want to. All right. You going right home? Hmm? I say you're going right home. Well, I thought maybe I'd go by the city hall. I'd like to see Danny Galindo for a minute. Uh-huh. What are you gonna eat then? Yeah, I'll probably grab something. You want to go? Yeah, I'll go. Well, I'm kind of hungry. I don't like the way she's up. She sleeps kind of light, you know. She always wakes up when I get to rattling around the kitchen. Yeah. Maybe stop and have a poached egg and some corned beef hash. How's that sound to you? Like a poached egg and some corned beef hash. I'm not kidding. I'm hungry. Are you about finished there? Yeah. I want to see Danny before he leaves. What is it, something special? No, I heard that he had a set of golf clubs for sale. I thought maybe I'd look at them. Are you gonna start playing golf? No. I just thought maybe I'd take a look at them. I got it. You have a notification Friday. Yes, ma'am, that's right. What's that address? All right, no. No, we'll find it. Well, try not to worry. We'll be right there. Yes, ma'am. Goodbye. Now that food of yours is gonna have to wait. What? 13-year-old kid's missing. Probably at a neighbor's. Her mother thinks she's been kidnapped. Frank and I left the office immediately and we drove out to the address I'd been given on the phone. The caller had told me that her 13-year-old daughter was missing from the house. I'm sorry, Frank. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Frank waited while I went up to the front door and after a few minutes he joined me. We were admitted to the house by a tall man in his early forties who identified himself as the missing girl's father, Gilbert Moran. He asked us to come into the den of the house where he gave us the story. My wife's with the doctor. She went all to pieces when it finally hit her. Yes, sir. Now, if you check with the girl's father, he's not going to be able to find her. He's going to have to find her. Well, Frank, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We'll be right there. I'm sorry. He went all to pieces when it finally hit her. Yes, sir. Now, if you check with the girl's friends... Yes, sir. Gladys called them all. None of them have seen her. How about the neighbors? Oh, we've talked to them, too. They just can't tell us anything. You've got to find her. Yes, sir. We'll do our best, Mr. Moran. Now, you want to start at the beginning and tell us what happened? Yeah. Do you want a cigarette? No, you go ahead. I have one here. How about you? Oh, I have one, sir. Here's a match. Thank you. Joe? Yeah, thank you. All right, sir. Do you want to tell us what happened? Well, Gladys and I went to a show tonight down on the boulevard. We left Bunny here doing her homework. Bunny? That's your daughter? Yes, sir. Her name's really Lucille, but the kids at grammar school tagged her Bunny, and she's been called that ever since. Uh-huh. What time did you get here? Must have been about 11.40, somewhere near there. Did you notice that your daughter was gone right away? No, sir. Not at first. I locked up, and then Gladys and I went upstairs. We checked Bunny's room, and she was gone. I see. Gladys talked to the thing all kinds of things. I checked with her, and she was gone. Uh-huh. I tried to calm her down. We got Bunny's telephone book and started to call her friends. We know most of them. They hadn't seen her. Finally, I thought it'd be wrong to wait any longer, and we called you. All right, sir. Now, do you want to give us a description of your girl? Would you wait just a minute? I'd like to talk to the doctor and see if Gladys is all right. Yes, sir. You go right ahead. She was terribly upset. Yes, sir. We understand. What do you think? I don't know. Big house, nice neighborhood. Looks like he's pretty well fixed, doesn't he? Yeah. Nothing about a car. Yeah. Nothing about a contact yet. Well, the girl's only been gone a couple hours. The doctor's giving her a sedative. She's still pretty much upset. Yes, sir. Now, what if you give us that description? Well, she's 13 and about right for her age. Well, how do you mean, sir? She's about 4'8", weighs around 80 pounds. What color is her hair? Dark blonde. She was always after her mother to let her use one of those rinses to make it lighter. Gladys said she should wait. I see. How about her eyes? Sort of brown, light. We used to tell her that she had honey colored eyes, a sort of golden brown, real long eyelashes. Now, can you remember what she was wearing? Let me think. Well, as I remember, sir, she had on a pair of clam diggers, sir. Clam diggers, short slacks. Hit her about right here, short. I see, uh-huh. What color? Denim, sort of light blue. I see. You know, white blouse. Sort of like a man shirt. How about shoes? Well, I think they were, uh... Gosh, I'm sorry, sir, I just can't remember. Now, is it possible she might have changed her clothes before she left? She didn't leave, Sergeant. She was taken out of here. I'm sure it wasn't her idea. Oh, I'm sure we understand. Is there anything else about your daughter that would make it easier for us to identify? I can't think of anything. All right. Frank, what if you call us in, please? Yeah. May I use your phone, Mr. Moran? Certainly. Where is it, please? Right through that door. There's an alcove in the hall. All right. The light switch is on the right, just behind the door. Thanks, sir. Say, wait a minute. Yes, sir? I forgot about Skippy. Who is that? Skippy, the dog, Bunny's dog. Who? Is that right? He must be with Bunny. First time I thought of him. He's usually right with her all the time. I haven't seen him since we got home. What kind of an animal is he? Golden cocker, about four years old. Bunny got him for a ninth birthday. I see. Better call on him, too, huh? Yeah. Now, what if I could see her room? Oh, sure. It's upstairs. This way? Mm-hmm. I hope you're not going to be angry, Mr. Moran. What? Has there been any trouble here in your home that might have affected the girl? What do you mean? Well, let me argue, Mr. Segrim. It's anything that might have upset her. No. Upstairs? Yes. How about boyfriends? You mean, does Bunny have any? That's right. Oh, there are a couple of kids in her class. He has over once in a while. She's not allowed any nighttime dates. I see. Once in a while on a weekend, we go to a show and take one of the kids with us. Is there any one boy that she sees more than the others? No, no. Gladys and I both think she's too young for that. It's down this way, son. All right. This is her room. When we left, she was sitting right there at the desk. You can see how there's paper scattered all over. Yeah. Looks a little like it was a struggle, doesn't it? Mm-hmm. She wouldn't do a thing like this if you just walked out. No, sir. What does this door lead over here? Outside to a walk that runs around the house. Walk? Was it this way when you came home? Oh, yes, sir. I didn't touch a thing as soon as I realized she was gone. The radio was still on, wasn't it? I told you, I didn't touch a thing. I see. She's been kidnapped, Sergeant. Somebody took her out of this house. Wait a minute, Mr. Moran. What is it where you found her? Something under the bed here, doesn't it? It's her dog, Skippy. Yeah. Looks like he's been beaten to death, doesn't it? Frank called the office and the description of the missing girl was broadcast. Captain Warren Stilson was contacted and he sent a crew of men out to the house to go over the room for physical evidence. The telephone company was contacted and arrangements were made for an extension phone to be placed in the same room as the existing instrument. In this manner, if the kidnapper should attempt to make contact with Moran, we could relay instructions to him easily. All of these preparations, however, were made with the thought that the house might be under surveillance by the person or persons who had taken the child. A team of men from Georgia Street juvenile was sent out to the house and a 24-hour watch was set up. Frank and I began to talk to the neighbors and friends of the Morans. None of them could shed any light on the missing teenager. By four minutes to six on Sunday morning, there still had been no attempt at communication by the kidnappers. By this time, the girl's description had been given out to all officers in the city who might come in contact with her. Although when we talked with the neighbors, we'd ask them to keep the inquiries in strict disconfidence, one of them had gotten in touch with a local newspaper. And before we had a chance to stop at the news of Bunny Moran's disappearance was out. The other papers in the city picked up the news and by noon on Sunday, special editions were on the streets. One forty p.m. Still no word from the girls abductors. Her friends were re-questioned without results. All of the people who knew her or who had any dealings with her were interrogated. Still no leads. The examination by members of the crime lab turned up no usable evidence. They established that the dog had been killed with a metal book end. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was contacted and they assigned a team of agents to work with us. By six twenty p.m., Mrs. Moran was in a state of complete collapse. The entire city and the state were looking for a thirteen-year-old daughter. A roundup of all known deviants was started. Ten thirty eight p.m. Frank and I got back to the office. I'll check the book. All right. Did you skip her in? No, I don't think so. Our group said he went over to City Hall meeting with Chief Brown and Lorman. Anything in the book? I mean, let's see. He has a couple of calls. Nothing that can't wait, though. Well, you better call Fay, hadn't you, and tell her where you are. Yeah, I guess so. I want to tag by late with Prince before we go out to the house. Yeah. You checked with the FBI? Yeah. They got the description of all of the border points. None of the guards remember seeing the girl. I figure she's still in the state then. Oh, hi, honey. That's me. I know. Well, I didn't get a chance. Well, I figured you'd read it. You know, no. Oh, OK. Pretty beat. Yeah, Joe is too. No, nothing yet. What's that? Oh, you know I can't talk about that, honey. Yeah. Yeah, well, don't worry. No, a little headache, yeah. I'll take some action. Look, I'll call you first chance I get. Yeah. OK, good-bye, then. Worried, huh? Yeah, she always is when I'm late. Let's go, huh? Yeah, let's go. I get it. General Division, Friday. How long ago? Where? Right, we'll wait here. Yeah, no, I'll call him. He's over with Chief Brown. We'll wait. Yeah, bye. What do you got? Kidnapper made contact. A note? Uh-uh. He called and wanted to talk to Moran. Drugist heard him make the call and notified Hollywood Division. Yeah. He's in custody now. Frank and I waited until the suspect was brought into the office for questioning. He'd been apprehended in the drug store while he was on the phone talking to Mr. Moran. A radio card picked him up and driven him over to Georgia Street Juvenile. We called Captain Powers at the city hall and he immediately came to the office. At 10 56 p.m., the suspect arrived. He was taken to the office of the night watch commander for questioning. All right, what's your name? You're the cop you tell me. Take everything out of your pockets. What is this, a shakedown? Don't you hear good? All right. There's my wallet. Any money in it? Couple bucks. Take it out. What are you doing, playing a lucky dollar contest? Take the money in your hand. Just put the wallet on the table. Get the other pockets out. Nothing in them. Let us worry about that. All right. Change. Here's a comb. Handkerchief. Clean, too. Matches. Cigarettes. Here's a pen and pencil set. Couple more pennies. That's it. Want to check it, Joe? Yeah. This is your wallet. It was in my pocket. I asked if it was yours. Yeah. Driver's license here. Is this your true name? Better read it so you can have it in the record. Mark Lawrence Lansdale. Is that your true name? That's what it says. You still live at the same address? Yeah. I'm going to ask you one question, Lansdale. I want the right answer. What do I get if I come up with a winner? Where's the Moran girl? I know what you're talking about. Then you better find out. 13-year-old kid's missing. You called her parents and asked for $50,000 for her return. Now where's the girl? I thought you arrested the guys for using the needle. Answer the question, mister. If I had it, you'd get it. All right, mister. I'm going to ask you once more. Where's the girl? I don't know what you're talking about. You think you're pretty big, don't you? I'll answer that one for you. You do that, will you? You say this girl's been kidnapped. Am I right? This is your party. You say you can prove that I made a call asking for $50,000. So far I'm on the right track. All right. Then it figures that if you're so sure I got something to do with it, if I'm here, the girl's in trouble, don't it? Go ahead. If I don't turn up, something bad's likely to happen to her. True? You're still on. Well, if it's like I say that I don't know anything about it, then you're going to have to turn me loose anyway. I got nothing to worry about, cop. You keep me here and your prized kids and I will end up in a ditch. You let me go and maybe you got a chance to get in the bank. I'm going to spell it out for you, Landso. And you listen good. There's nothing getting you out of here, nothing. I got two kids of my own and I know how those parents feel. I'm on their side. If anything happens to that girl, you won't forget it for the rest of your life. And if I've got anything to say about it, that won't be very long. I'll pull every string I know to see that I get to take you to the joint and strap you in the chair myself. If you harm that kid in any way, you won't live long enough to regret it. Big man with a badge. I got it. Juvenile Friday. It's right here. Where? All right, I'll tell them. Wrong? All right, fine, bye. The Hollywood station, Skipper. Yeah? They found the girl. The call had come from the Hollywood police station telling us that the Moran girl had been found. We contacted Lieutenant Hartgrove and had Mark Lansdale held for further questioning. Frank, Captain Powers, and I left the office and drove to the Courtney Terrace address where the girl had been taken. When we got there, there was a uniformed officer standing by the front door. We went in and found Mr. and Mrs. Moran with their daughter, Bunny, waiting for us. The girl appeared to be all right. Her face was dirty and scratched. Her clothing was torn, but she appeared to be in good health. Are you hungry, dear? Would you like a bowl of soup or something? That's not too much trouble. Not at all, honey. I'll get it right away. Now you stop when you get tired. I will, Mother. You want to go ahead, Bunny? Yes. Where do you want me to begin? What happened on Saturday night? Daddy and Mother went to a show. I was upstairs doing my homework. I see. I guess I was up there a half an hour, maybe more. It seems like that long. It's hard to tell when you're doing work, you know. Yeah. Anyway, the first thing I knew, it was somebody at the front door. I heard the bell went downstairs. There were two men there. I see. They asked if my mother and father were home. I told them, no, that they'd gone out. Mm-hmm. And then they told me that they knew that all the time. Said there'd been some kind of an accident, and I should go with them right away. Said it was an emergency. And you went with them, did you? Yeah. I went upstairs to my room to get a coat. I wanted to make sure Skippy was all right. Yeah. One of them went with me. I was getting my coat. I remembered that sometimes kidnappers tell people there's been an accident so they can take them away. You know how they do. That was good thinking, Bunny. Would you go ahead, please, Miss? I asked the man who followed me where Mom and Dad were, what hospital. Mm-hmm. He said they were in a hospital. They'd been taken to some kind of an emergency place. He said that they were not in a hospital? No, he said they'd been taken to some sort of emergency place. Oh, he said, all right, go ahead, please. Well, when I asked him for the name of the place, he wouldn't tell me. He just said I should hurry up, that my folks had been hurt pretty bad. That was a dirty lie. Anyway, I told him I wouldn't go, and he grabbed me. He said he was going to take me. He should like to get my hands on him. Was the other man downstairs all this time? Well, I guess so. I didn't see him. All right, go ahead, Miss, please. Here's your soup, Honey. Now drink it while it's still hot. Oh, kind. It's black bean, just like you like it. Go on now, while it's hot. There were some nice crackers there, too. Thanks, Mother. Mmm, it's good. I'm hungry. It's all right. Go ahead, Miss, please. Can't you let her eat? Poor child, after what she's been through. There's another man out, Mrs. Moran. We've got to find him. He's right, Gladys. Well, you go ahead and eat while you're talking. Yes, Mother. And not too fast. All right. Please go ahead, Miss. Well, when he grabbed me, Skippy, that's my dog, he got sore. Got real mad when he saw the man grab me, and he jumped at the man, tried to bite him. I see. The man hit Skippy, grabbed him and hit him a lot. I guess he killed him, I don't know. What happened then? Well, he took me out the car. It was parked outside in front of the house. Did he get a good look at the car? Mm-hmm. He can give us a description of it, then. Yeah, I can tell you all about it. All right, where'd the men take you? Well, they drove for a long time. I think it's up in the hill someplace, up in Laurel Canyon. Mm-hmm. There's this kind of a house there, tar paper. Looks like the buildings they had when they were building the freeway. Tar paper shacks, like the, you know, they keep the blueprints in. Mm-hmm. One of those didn't even have a floor, just dirt. They put me in there and left me. I heard them lock the door when they went away. I see. I didn't know what to do. I sat there for a little while and tried to think what to do. Did they have you tied in any way? Yeah, they had ropes around my hands and around my feet. Mm-hmm. I fell asleep after a while. Cried for a while and then fell asleep. Oh, my poor baby. I guess it was morning when I woke up. I couldn't tell too good because there wasn't any window in the shack, just the walls and no floor. Mm-hmm. First, when I woke up, I didn't know where I was and I remembered. Did either of the men come back at all? No, I sat there for a while and then I tried to think of some way I could get away. Yeah. There was a whiskey bottle on the floor and I kicked it until I broke it. Then I took one of the pieces and cut the ropes on my hand. I untied my feet and then just went around the shack, kicking the walls until I found a place that wasn't strong. I found one and I crawled through. Mm-hmm. What did you do then? I started to walk. It was pretty late by that time and I started to walk down the road. I was looking for a house. I got to a street and walked along it for a while. There weren't many cars, but a truck came along and a driver stopped and gave me a lift. Drove me to Laurel and Hollywood Boulevard and then let me out. Yeah. After that, I walked home. You were real brave, honey. I was pretty scared. There were a lot of times I didn't know what to do. You just bet there were, baby, but you did good. You're safe now. Can you describe the two men for us, do you think? I guess so. One of them was dark, kind of short, looked like... Oh, what's his name? You see him on television all the time, real moon-looking. I'll think of his name. I looked exactly like him. What about the other one? He wasn't very big either, kind of brown hair, thin, had blue eyes, watery blue eyes. Were those the only two men you saw? Yeah, just the two. Did they talk about anybody else being in on the kidnapping with them, do you remember? Not that I could hear. You're sure about that, are you? Yes. Sergeant, what's so important about that? Well, sir, we've got a man in custody, the one who calls you. Yes. Neither one of these descriptions match him. We continue to talk to the Moran girl. We got a complete description of both men involved and of the car they used. Local and APBs were gotten out on them. The fact that the descriptions varied and did not match the suspect we had in custody meant very little. A witness or a victim under stress might easily be mistaken. We talked with a family doctor and he told us that after a good night's sleep, the girl would be able to cooperate with us completely. The following morning, Monday, April 19th, a special show-up was arranged at the main jail. Our suspect was placed in a line with other men in custody. Bunny Moran failed to identify him. Frank and I took her over to the city hall and had her look through mugshots that had been pulled from packages as a result of a run by the stats office. She was unable to point out a suspect. 1.40 p.m. We asked her if she could show us the shack where she'd been held captive. She said she could. We called her parents and told them where we were going and then we left the office. We picked up a policewoman and drove out the freeway to Sunset Boulevard and turned off. When we got to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, we drove past Lookout Mountain Avenue and then we turned left onto a dirt road. We drove for about a mile and a half. There was no sign of any type of building. It's right up ahead around the next corner. You sure you're on the right road? Yeah, I remember walking down this one. That's right. Hey, that's as far as we can go. Dead end. Maybe I did make a mistake. Maybe I did. I was sure it was along here, but maybe I was wrong. It might have been the next road up. You know, the one past where we turned off? Uh-huh. You want to turn around, Frank? Yeah. I'm sure I'm sorry about it. That's all right, Miss. Guess it seems like a wild goose chase, huh? No. I sure hope not. I know where it is. I just got mixed up. All right. We'll find it. I'm sure we will. Can't just disappear, can it? No, not likely. Here's someplace. You'll see. Yeah, we'll see. We went back to Laurel Canyon Boulevard and drove up all of the dirt roads in the vicinity. We didn't find the shack. Each time, Bunny Moran would offer some excuse. Finally, we asked her to describe the truck that had picked her up. She gave us a description that would fit two or three hundred vehicles in the city. She was unable to tell us the name of the driver who'd stopped. We took her back to the office and asked her to go over the story again. When she finished, Frank left to get Captain Powers. All right, you want to tell us now? What do you mean? The real story, the way it really happened. Might be easier if you told us first, don't you think? I told you there isn't any more to tell. I told you all how it happened. Why are you lying? I'm not lying. There's no way it happened. Now look, there are half a dozen places where the story you just told us doesn't fit with what you said last night. I was tired last night. Maybe I didn't remember. That's kind of hard to buy. Too many things that don't check out, Miss. The story about your dog, the fact that you can't find the shack. You don't know who the driver of the truck was. There are a lot of things that don't check out. You don't know who the driver of the truck was. There are a lot of things. I forgot. That's all. I made a mistake. Didn't you ever make a mistake? A lot of them. But last night you said only one of the men went upstairs with you, isn't that right? I don't remember. You seem pretty sure about it then. And I guess that's what I said. Only one of the men went with you, huh? That's what I said, yes. Well, and why, when you told the story just now, did you say that both of them went with you? I don't know. I don't know. You gave me all mixed up. Did you kill your dog? Did you? Yes. Why? I had to. To make the story sound real life. I didn't want to, but I had to. Why did you do it at all, Miss? So they wouldn't mind. That's the reason. What do you mean, so who wouldn't mind? You'll think it's silly. You won't think it's a good reason. Why don't you tell me anyway, huh? Because I was failing. What? I flunked at school. I flunked and I didn't want my folks to know. They'd be real mad. Real mad. So you figured this kidnaped thing out, huh? Played it that way. Yes. I thought that if something bad happened to me, they'd be so glad to have me back. It wouldn't matter about my flunking. The whole thing was a lie from the beginning to end, huh? Yes. All of it. All right, next time we better get going. Where? I'm going to take you home. You going to tell my folks about it? We haven't got much choice, have we? They'll be mad. Madder than they've ever been. Well, I guess they will. Well, I tell them. What'll I say? I'll tell you. Why don't you try something different? Tell them the truth. Presented at the meeting were Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Moran and their daughter Lucille. It was decided that no criminal complaint be issued, and the girl was released to the custody of her parents with the understanding that she be given psychiatric help. Further investigation showed Mark Parkwell Lansdale was wanted by authorities in Sacramento to answer a burglary charge. He was released to them. Dragnet, the story of your police force in action is a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service. The United States Armed Forces Radio Service is a production of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service and the United States Air Force. The United States Armed Forces Radio Service is a production of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service
