On May 24th, 1935, George H. Weyerhaeuser, age 9 was kidnapped off the street in Tacoma, WA in broad daylight walking home from school. His captors mailed a note to the Weyerhaeuser family demanding $200,000 ransom for the boy’s safe return. George was held handcuffed in a freshly dug pit in the woods. The Weyerhaeuser family complied with the $200,000 demand and on June 1st,1935 at 3:30am George was set free on a remote road in Issaquah, WA, 9 days after his kidnapping. A farmer drove George to town, media coverage on George’s story was intense so news spread quickly of George’s release which led to George being kidnapped for the 2nd time.

References:
Johnston, Bryan. Deep in the Woods. Post Hill Press, 14 Sept. 2021.

“George Weyerhaeuser Sr., Great-Grandson of Timber Company Founder and Kidnapped as a Child, Dies at 95.” The Seattle Times, 13 June 2022, www.seattletimes.com/business/george-weyerhaeuser-sr-great-grandson-of-timber-company-founder-and-childhood-kidnap-victim-dies-at-95/.

“George H. W. Weyerhaeuser.” Www.weyerhaeusermusehistory.com, https://www.weyerhaeusermusehistory.com/george-h-w-weyerhaeuser/ .Accessed 11 June 2024.

“Crime and Punishment.” Special.seattletimes.com, https://special.seattletimes.com/o/special/centennial/may/crime.html

Regimbal, Alec. “History: The P-I’s Role in the Kidnapping Case of George Weyerhaeuser.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, www.seattlepi.com/local/seattle-history/article/seattle-p-i-role-in-george-weyerhaeuser-kidnapping-16463008.php. Accessed 11 June 2024.

Raftery, Isolde. “A Wild Tale of Kidnapping and Newshounding in the Northwest.” Www.kuow.org, 24 Oct. 2018, www.kuow.org/stories/wild-tale-kidnapping-and-newshounding-northwest. Accessed 11 June 2024.

“Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping.” Www.historylink.org, https://www.historylink.org/file/7750

“History.” Www.weyerhaeuser.com, www.weyerhaeuser.com/company/history/.

“Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping.” Www.historylink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/7711

“George Weyerhaeuser Obituary (1926 - 2022) - Lakewood, WA - News Tribune (Tacoma).” Legacy.com,

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/tribnet/

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen and support the show! Please take a moment to rate and subscribe from wherever you are listening to Crooked Campfire!

Don’t miss out on all things Crooked Campfire! By following on social media

· Instagram

For more information visit C.C website:

www.crookedcampfire.com

https://linktr.ee/crookedcampfire

Contact me with questions or sponsorship opportunities at:

Crookedcampfire@gmail.com

Send me your own bizarre story for a possible feature episode at:

Crookedcampfirestories@gmail.com

Hosted by Jess with Buzzsprout