Kidnapped For Ransom (Little Charlie Ross)

American Hauntings Podcast

Cody Beck and Troy Taylor

True Crime, Religion & Spirituality, Tv & Film, Spirituality, Film Reviews, History

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1874, just nine years after President Lincoln was slain, the nation was again shocked by a terrible event. It was not the death of a great leader but the disappearance of a previously unknown four-year-old name Charles Brewster Ross. “Little Charlie Ross” – as Americans would soon know him – was stolen away in what became the first kidnapping for ransom in the history of the United States.

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This episode was written by Troy Taylor

Produced and edited by Cody Beck

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The sun was shining brightly on Germantown, the affluent Philadelphia neighborhood, and two young
0:05.6	boys were playing along a dirt road that ran behind their family's large and sprawling home.
0:11.1	Six-year-old Walter Ross had a handful of jacks that he'd just scooped up off the ground.
0:16.0	He laid them aside and handed a small red rubber ball to his little brother, Charlie, who was just
0:21.7	four. Charlie bounced the ball into the air and tried to grab some of the little metal jacks in
0:27.1	his chubby hand, but he only managed to snag one before the ball came back down.
0:32.9	Aw, he groaned, unhappy about his bad luck, and a little jealous of his brother's bigger
0:38.5	hands and skill with the game. It's okay, Charlie, Walter said. Just try it again. You'll get it.
0:45.7	Charlie picked up the ball and was just about to bounce it on the hard-packed alleyway
0:50.3	when he and Walter's play was interrupted by the sound of a buggy coming toward them.
0:55.2	The horses hooves beat a steady rhythm on the road, catching the attention of the two boys.
1:00.8	There were two men in the buggy. Big men, it looked like, but of course, all men looked big when
1:06.5	seen by little boys. Their clothing was rough and dirty, nothing like the nice suits worn by their
1:11.8	father. One of the men had a big black mustache and a thick beard that came down to his chest.
1:17.7	The other man had a dusty-colored mustache, and while he wore no beard, he was sporting a pair of
1:23.6	smoked goggles, which were used as sunglasses in those days. In hindsight, they were most likely
1:30.2	an attempt at a disguise. The men stopped their buggy in the middle of the road. Each had a large
1:36.8	smile on his face. Hello, boys, the man with the beard said to them, grinning widely and showing off
1:43.3	his crooked yellow teeth. Hello, Walter replied. The two boys had always been taught to be plight
1:50.4	to adults, even to strangers. What are your names, the man asked? Is that your house there?
1:57.2	He gestured to the Ross House behind them. Yes, sir, Walter said, I'm Walter Ross, and this is
2:03.3	my brother Charlie. The two men exchanged a glance. Well, it's sure nice to meet you, the man
	...

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