02-03-2025
The Lindbergh baby kidnapping: From the Asbury Park Press Archives
Much of the front page and inside edition is devoted to the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son and namesake of the famed aviator, taken from their East Amwell home in Hunterdon County, the night before.
Ten weeks later on May 12, the decomposed remains of the infant would be found in neighboring Hopewell Township in Mercer County, less than five miles from the family's estate. Despite the ransom demand, the child was believed to have been killed during or shortly after the abduction.
Bruno Hauptmann, a German immigrant with a criminal record, would be convicted for the kidnapping and murder of the boy. He was executed by electric chair at the state prison in Trenton on April 3, 1936.
Nationwide developments following the kidnapping of the 20-month-old son of Col. and Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh near Hopewell, New Jersey, were reported by the Associated Press beginning last night:
NEWARK — A plain postcard addressed to Col. Charles A. Lindbergh was found in the mail in the Newark Post Office. It read: 'Babe safe. Instructions later. Act accordingly.' The card, picked up in the noon collections from a box in the heart of the city, was spotted by a distributor in the Post Office, according to a dispatch from the Associated Press published on the front page of the Asbury Park Press.
Director of Public Safety William Egan immediately called out the entire police force and a house-to-house search of the vicinity of Plane Street and Central Avenue was begun, the AP reported.
HOPEWELL — Mrs. Lindbergh revealed that her son, Charles Lindbergh Jr., was suffering from a severe cold when he was taken from his crib last night and she is fearful the kidnappers neglected to wrap him warmly as no blankets were taken, said the Associated Press.
Col. Lindbergh, accompanied by New Jersey state troopers, carefully searched the family's entire estate for clues. It became known he is willing to pay the demanded ransom, reported to be $50,000, according to the AP.
TRENTON — Gov. A. Harry Moore withheld an offer of a reward from the state of New Jersey at the request of Col. Lindbergh, who believes initial efforts to apprehend his son's abductors should be made first, the Associated Press has learned.
The state Legislature was ready to make an offer of $25,000 for information leading to the whereabouts and safe return of Charles Lindbergh Jr., according to the AP.
WASHINGTON — President Herbert Hoover conferred with U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell today, who announced that the federal government will cooperate with local and state authorities in the search for the kidnapped Lindbergh baby, the AP is reporting.
Indignation was aroused in congressional circles over the abduction. All immigration and customs officials at U.S. borders were ordered to keep a sharp watch, the wire article stated.
BELMAR — State Sen. E. Donald Sterner, R-Monmouth, announced that he would introduce a bill in the state Senate tonight to make kidnapping punishable by death, hoping to prevent further abductions.
Under the existing law, the crime is a high misdemeanor punishable by up to life imprisonment. Sterner's bill would provide for the death penalty unless a recommendation of mercy is returned by a jury.
'It is high time that an end was put to this increasing wave of kidnapping that seems to be spreading,' Sterner said. 'Several of our states impose capital punishment for this offense and I feel that this state should take the same step.'
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park Press NJ archives for March 2
