This Day in History May 18, 1926

I believe I have heard of today's feature, but I have not heard of this particular incident in her life.  Amy Semple McPherson was one of the first Pentecostal evangelists.  This was long before the television evangelists we see today.  But it was on this date in 1926 that she disappeared.  She went swimming on this date near Venice Beach, and they never returned.  It was feared that she drowned, and her death was mourned.  People actually died searching for her body.

On June 23--around a month later--she appeared and claimed she had been kidnapped, drugged, tortured, and held for ransom.  She claimed to have gotten away from her captors.  Her story was met with skepticism, and a grand jury disbanded when as there seemed not enough conclusive evidence.  There is much speculation as to what really happened, but I will have to say that I do not believe she was abducted.  It would not surprise me for it to have been a publicity stunt.  But I guess the world will never know.

For more information, please check out:
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/la/scandals/aimee.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG00/robertson/asm/front.html
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/protestant/a/aimee_mcpherson.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimee_Semple_McPherson

This Day in History May 12, 1932

Today's feature is a great tragedy, and it involved the child in the picture above.  This is a picture of Charles Lindbergh, Jr.  He was kidnapped on March 1, 1932, and it was a horrific story in U.S. history.  A ransom note demanding $50,000 was discovered, and a hunt for the child ensued.  But five days later, a second ransom note demanding $70,000 was discovered as well.

More ransom notes followed, and arrangements were even made to pay the ransom.  But then on this date in 1932, the body of the baby was accidentally found.  The gruesome discovery was made by a truck driver, and it was partially buried by the side of the road about four and a half miles from the Lindbergh estate.  Death was caused by a blow to the head, and the body was in horrible condition--no details here.  

After a two year investigation, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of the baby.  In 1935, he was convicted of first degree murder, and then he died in the electric chair in 1936.  The good that came out of the tragedy was that the "Lindbergh Law" came about which made transporting a kidnapped child over state lines a federal crime. 

For more information, please check out:

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/kidnap/index.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Lindbergh_baby_kidnapping

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/the-lindbergh-kidnapping/the-lindbergh-kidnapping