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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.

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This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're

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going to bring you this week's episode of Dragging It.

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But first I do want to encourage you, if you're

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enjoying the podcast, to please follow us using your favorite

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podcast software. And today's program is brought to you by

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the financial support of our listeners. You can support us

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by mailing Adam Nation to Adam Graham peel box one

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five nine one three. That's peel box one five nine

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thirteen Boise alohol eight three seven one five, And you

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can also become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for

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his little last two dollars per month now from June seventh,

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nineteen fifty one. Here is the big impostor.

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Speaker 2: The story you're about to hear is true, only the

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names have been changed to protect the innocents. You're a

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detective sergeant. You're assigned to Missing Persons detail. A ten

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year old boy disappears from his home in a remote

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section of the city two nights and two days past.

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Speaker 3: There's not a trace of the boy.

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Speaker 2: Your job find out.

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Speaker 4: Drag Net the documented drama of an actual crime. Well

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the next thirty minutes, in cooperation with the Los Angeles

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Police Department, you will travel step by step on the

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side of the law through an actual case transcribed from

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official police files, from beginning to end, from crime to punishment.

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Dragnet is the story of your police force and action.

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Speaker 5: It was Wednesday, August fourth, was hot in Los Angeles.

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We're working the day watch out of Juvenile Bureau. My

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partner's Ben Romero. The boss's Inspector Bowling. My name's Frany.

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We were on the way out from the office and

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it was two twenty five pm when we got to

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Bowers Avenue, number twelve eighteen.

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Speaker 3: Yees police officers. Man would like to see mister Sherman.

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Speaker 6: We'll certainly, officers, won't you come in?

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Speaker 7: Thank you very much.

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Speaker 6: I'm from next door. I saw you around here yesterday. Yes, ma'am,

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came over this morning look after poor mister Sherman.

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Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am. Well, how's he feeling today too?

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Speaker 6: Well? Fixed him some nice chicken broth for lunch, and

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then I helped him in his wheel chair and took

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him out in the backyard out in the sun, good

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hot sun. It's wonderful for his legs. He has arthritis, you.

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Speaker 3: Know, Yes, so we understand. What if we could talk

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to him, Miss.

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Speaker 6: Kelly, Well, yes, I guess you have to. He's still

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out in the back sleep in his chair. Last time

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I looked, seems ashamed of disturb him.

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Speaker 7: Well, he called us at the office that he wanted

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to see as as soon as we could make it

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out here.

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Speaker 6: Was it about his grandson, Jimmy? They called him?

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Speaker 7: Yet no man searching parties calling in the area. There's

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still no trace of the boy.

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Speaker 3: Did any of the other.

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Speaker 5: Officers who were out here covering the neighborhood talk to you,

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miss Kelly.

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Speaker 6: Oh, yes, there was mister Lorman, Detective Lorman.

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Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.

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Speaker 6: I told him everything I knew about Jimmy's disappearance. It

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was right after dinner hour on Monday, about six thirty

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last time I saw Jimmy.

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Speaker 3: I see.

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Speaker 6: I came out the side door were to empty the garbage,

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and I saw Jimmy hiking up the side of the

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hill there just in back the house, all by himself.

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Nice boy.

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Speaker 7: As far as you know, missus Keller, Jimmy is mister

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Sherman's only living relative.

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Speaker 6: That's right. His only relative, his only grandchild. Jimmy's mother

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and father were killed in an auto wreck that was

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three or four years ago. Sherman's had a terrible lot

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of tragedy. Jimmy and his grandfather, they're the only ones left.

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Speaker 5: You can't think of any reason why the boyould want

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to leave his grandfather.

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Speaker 6: King, none at all. Mister Sherman's a wonderful man. Jimmy

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loved him.

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Speaker 8: I knew then, Missus Keller, Missus Keller.

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Speaker 6: We can go through the house out the back this way.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, go ahead of him.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, okay, visitors for you, Missus Sherman. How are you

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feeling all right?

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Speaker 9: I suppose? Hellos? What about the boy? Have you found

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him yet?

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Speaker 5: Well, nothing yet, mister Sherman. We've added more men to

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the searching party. We're doing everything we can.

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Speaker 9: I'm gone two nights and two days. Tell me the truth, sergeant,

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what's happened to the boy?

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Speaker 7: All right?

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Speaker 10: Now?

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Speaker 3: We don't know any more about it than you do, Servant.

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That's no reason to give up, hope.

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Speaker 7: You told us yourself yesterday that Jimmy's been messing once before.

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It turned out alright that time he.

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Speaker 8: Wasn't gone for two nights and two days.

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Speaker 9: Maybe you just say I'm old and I've got funny ideas,

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But I got a feeling, Sergeant, something's happened to Jimmy.

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Speaker 8: Something's happened, and I can't do anything about it.

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Speaker 6: You just put those thoughts out of your head, mister Sherman.

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They're gonna find Jimmy. It's gonna be all right. Why

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don't you pull up those lawn chairs there, Sergeant. Right,

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I'm gonna go in the house and fix some coal

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lemonade for you. Man.

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Speaker 11: Well, thank you man.

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Speaker 5: We got your phone message at the office, mister Sherman,

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anything specially you wanted to talk to us about.

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Speaker 9: Yes, there was something when you were talking to me yesterday. Yes, Sir,

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I told you that Jimmy had on a brown jacket

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when he disappeared Monday night. Yeah, I was wrong, Sergeant.

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We found the jacket in his room. All he was

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wearing was a pair of blue jeans in this white sweatshirt.

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Speaker 8: Do you think that might help any.

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Speaker 3: Yes, sir, it might.

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Speaker 5: We'll send out a supplementary description of his clothes. We'll

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see that everybody's notified.

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Speaker 9: Just wish I could be out there with a searching party.

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Aps writers is pretty bad today. It caught me in

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a terrible time. I don't know what I'd do if

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anything happened to the boy.

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Speaker 7: I know we have asked you this before, mister Sherman,

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but can you think of any reason at all why

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your grandson would want to leave home?

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Speaker 9: No, sir, no reason at all. Those two colligue pops

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over there in the pin Jimmy just bought him last

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week with his own money saved up together. The boy's

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crazy about dogs. That's why I say, just wouldn't pick

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up and leave everything. Boy and me got a long fine.

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No reason for it, Sagean. Something's happened to the boy.

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Speaker 8: I just got a.

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Speaker 7: Feeling offer, Yes, ma'am.

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Speaker 6: A telephone call for either one out here.

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Speaker 3: I'll get it, Ben, I'll be right back.

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Speaker 6: All right, is your office calling?

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Speaker 3: Thank you, miss Keller.

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Speaker 6: Where's that telephone? Straight back there in the hall?

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Speaker 3: Thank you very much. Friday talking.

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Speaker 12: This is Pooling.

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Speaker 11: Joe just heard from the search.

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Speaker 3: Party up of the hill or did they find something?

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Speaker 1: Yeah?

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Speaker 13: In the Allian Fark carrier by the upper reservoir. Huh

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found a pair of kids trousers right by the edge

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of the water.

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Speaker 3: What kind of trousers, blue jeans?

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Speaker 13: Nothing in the pockets. They'll start dragging for a body

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as soon as they get the equipment. Check it out

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with a grandfather. Huh see if the boy was in

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the habit of hiking up there around the reservoir.

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Speaker 5: Right, we'll call in just before we leave here, right, Joe, Right, bye.

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Speaker 6: Well, there's your lemonade, sergeant, just port it for you nicely.

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Speaker 3: Thank you, ma'am.

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Speaker 8: What was it something about the boy?

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Speaker 5: Well, nothing definite, no, sir, Just to report on the

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search party. They're still up in the Allegian Park area.

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Speaker 8: Oh, I see.

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Speaker 5: Did your grandson Jimmy do much hiking in that neighborhood there,

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mister Sherman.

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Speaker 8: Yes, I think he did. Likes to hike up there

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on the reservoir.

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Speaker 5: Why the name on the three sixteen report missing juvenile

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read James Phillip Sherman, WMA, ten years old. He lived

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with his sixty eight year old grandfather, Oscar Sherman, and

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a small cottage in a sparsely populated section of the city.

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Shortly after six pm on Monday, the boy went outside

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to play when darkness fell, and he failed to return home.

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His crippled grandfather went out to look for him. Half

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an hour later, the neighbors joined in in the search.

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No sign of the boy. At ten pm, Juvenile Bureau

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was notified, and throughout the night squads of men on

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foot and cruiser cars canvassed the area. A local broadcast

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and an all points bulletin was gotten out on the boy.

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Neither the grandfather or the neighbors could find any reason

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for his disappearance.

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Speaker 3: After almost forty eight hours of.

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Speaker 5: Continuous searching, the only lead we had was the pair

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of trousers found on the edge of the Upper Reservoir

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in Alegian Park. They were to the grandfather, but he

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failed to give positive identification. Dragging operations at the reservoir

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began immediately. Meantime, Ben and I, together with Lorman and

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Lopez from Homicide, checked out every possible lead on the

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missing youngster. One of the tips came from a Frank Grady,

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an unemployed carpenter who lived five blocks from the Sherman home.

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Speaker 14: I don't know how much is maybe worth you, Sergeant.

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I don't want to get anybody into trouble, but I

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figured this is a pretty important thing.

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Speaker 12: What is it?

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Speaker 7: You want to tell us, mister Grady, Well, as.

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Speaker 14: I say, I don't want to get anybody in any trouble,

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but have you checked over everybody in this neighborhood?

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Speaker 7: I think we've talked just about everybody in there. You

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don't jujo well either us of the man from homicide.

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Speaker 14: Why he asked Grady, Well, there's a guy who's down

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the street there, right down the corner from this house,

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old guy by name on Gilby.

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Speaker 3: What about him?

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Speaker 14: I say, I don't want to cause any trouble, but

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maybe you ought to double check him. One thing, his

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next convict and all that. Another thing. He hates everybody

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in the neighborhood, hates the kids too. Wouldn't be surprised

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if he was man.

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Speaker 7: Why do you say that, Griddy? Does he have any

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special reason for disliking the Sherman boy?

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Speaker 14: Oh, Man Gilby wouldn't need a reason. A real queer

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one say, I got a couple of cans of cold

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beer in the icebox and I fixed you follows up?

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Speaker 5: What makes you think this Gilby had anything to do

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with the boys disappearance, mister.

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Speaker 14: Grady, Well, number one, I saw man Gilby out walking

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Monday night when the Sherman kid disappeared. Yeah, saw him

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walking along the road up there, the same one that

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goes up by the reservoir, and I watched him. It

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was dark by the time he got back to his house,

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and check on him again if I were you as.

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Speaker 7: Sure as you know. Has Gilby ever been in trouble

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for bothering the kids in the neighborhood?

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Speaker 14: Oh, sergeanty bothers everybody in the neighborhood. Real queer lives

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by himself, always complaining about something.

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Speaker 11: Frankly, I think he's your man.

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Speaker 8: I think he took that kid and he did something

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to him.

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Speaker 3: Do you have anything at all to back up your opinion.

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Speaker 14: You dig her on, you'll find something on him.

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Speaker 11: There's no good, no bed on it.

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Speaker 14: I've had a couple of runnings with him myself. He

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just isn't any good.

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Speaker 5: That's all well, all right, Grady, thanks for the tip.

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We'll be sure and double check on the man.

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Speaker 14: You won't tell him where you got the tip though, huh.

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Like I say, I've had run ins with him before.

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It might cause trouble.

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Speaker 3: No, he won't know where we got it.

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Speaker 14: Thanks again, Okay, sergeant, that's a pretty important thing. I

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didn't want to make anybody look bad. But oh man,

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it's just no good. You understand that, don't you?

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Speaker 3: Sure, Graddy? We understand.

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Speaker 5: As a matter of routine, we double checked on Grady's neighbor,

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mister Harold Gilby. We found out that he had no

237
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jail record and that he had been at work on

238
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,879
Monday from three to eleven pm. He could have had

239
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no direct connection with the Sherman boys disappearance, no more

240
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than Gritty himself could have had. The so called tip

241
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he'd offered us was like one hundred other phony leads

242
00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,240
in one hundred other cases, spiteful small minded neighbors trying

243
00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,080
to use the tragic situation to work out their jealousies

244
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and prejudice on somebody that they didn't get along with

245
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in the neighborhood. The search continued, so did the hot weather. Friday,

246
00:11:58,799 --> 00:12:02,399
August sixth, sign of the missing boy, the temperature climbed

247
00:12:02,399 --> 00:12:05,759
into the mid nineties. Dragging operations at the reservoir went

248
00:12:05,799 --> 00:12:11,000
on Saturday, August seventh, more legwork, more hot weather. By noontime,

249
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Ben and I had run down the last lead we

250
00:12:12,759 --> 00:12:16,600
had on ten year old Jimmy Sherman went nowhere, one pm.

251
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We headed back for the office to check with Inspector Bowling.

252
00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:23,240
Speaker 7: These are the days when I wish I had a

253
00:12:23,279 --> 00:12:26,200
little swimming pool in my backyard. Grew'll be nice to

254
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,360
go home too, you know, I'll save your money. Oh

255
00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,759
it doesn't cost some munch. No. I read in a

256
00:12:32,799 --> 00:12:35,080
magazine where a fellow built his own pool for ninety

257
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:36,600
five dollars and thirty seven cents.

258
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Speaker 3: It can't be much of a pool, can it.

259
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:39,320
Speaker 7: Oh? Yeah, it's good size.

260
00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:39,600
Speaker 8: Of course.

261
00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:41,960
Speaker 7: He did all his own labor, had all his friends

262
00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,679
in to help out. He must have had a lot

263
00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:45,960
of friends, didn't, Yeah, he did after he finished the pool.

264
00:12:47,159 --> 00:12:50,879
Speaker 15: Al Right, Hey benh hi skipper, how'd you two make

265
00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:51,840
out anything?

266
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:53,360
Speaker 3: I don't no luck at all.

267
00:12:53,639 --> 00:12:55,840
Speaker 11: It makes you unanimous. Did you hear about the old

268
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:56,919
man boy's grandfather?

269
00:12:57,159 --> 00:12:57,960
Speaker 7: No, what happened.

270
00:12:58,120 --> 00:12:59,720
Speaker 11: I guess the strain got too much for him.

271
00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:00,399
Speaker 3: Lapsed.

272
00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,759
Speaker 11: They're moving him to a hospital. Oh it's too bad.

273
00:13:03,639 --> 00:13:05,399
Speaker 3: Our men still up their dragnant.

274
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,120
Speaker 11: Reservoir finished this morning? Nothing?

275
00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,639
Speaker 7: How about the search party? Nothing there either, I suppose.

276
00:13:10,759 --> 00:13:12,279
Oh I'm not a trace of the boy. It's a

277
00:13:12,279 --> 00:13:15,320
blind alley all the way around. How about the APU B.

278
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,200
The radiogram had three replies so far, none of them

279
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:18,679
fanned out.

280
00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:24,360
Speaker 15: You're a rabbit, juvenile br our Bowling there for it?

281
00:13:26,799 --> 00:13:32,879
No good eh, all right, check you later. I heard

282
00:13:32,919 --> 00:13:35,039
it once, I heard it fifty times. No trace of

283
00:13:35,039 --> 00:13:38,200
the boy. That means, Kipper, something real weird about the

284
00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:38,759
whole thing.

285
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Speaker 5: Well, little look, we know he didn't just disappear into

286
00:13:40,919 --> 00:13:43,799
the thin air. Kid's gone. There's a good reason for it.

287
00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:45,759
There's got to be an answer somewhere.

288
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,519
Speaker 11: That's right, you'll find it.

289
00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:54,639
Speaker 5: Another week passed, and then a month, two months. We

290
00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:56,639
were no farther along than the day we started on

291
00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,639
the case. In November, we had a teletype from Chief

292
00:13:59,639 --> 00:14:03,120
Earl Claire of the Phoenix, Arizona Police Department reportedly the

293
00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,360
Sherman boy had been seen in Phoenix. Was another false alarm.

294
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:10,600
The Christmas holidays wore on into a new year. February

295
00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:16,200
came and went, then March April. Tuesday, May third, Ben

296
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:18,360
and I got a call to check in with Inspector Bowling.

297
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,399
Speaker 11: This telegram just came in from Dayton, Ohio. I'm love,

298
00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:23,480
thank you.

299
00:14:23,919 --> 00:14:25,200
Speaker 7: Let's see Joe. What is it?

300
00:14:25,639 --> 00:14:32,840
Speaker 5: Jimmy Sherman they found him. Nine months had gone by,

301
00:14:32,879 --> 00:14:35,320
almost to the day since the Sherman boy had disappeared.

302
00:14:35,639 --> 00:14:38,759
The grandfather was contacted immediately. When he was told his

303
00:14:38,799 --> 00:14:41,120
grandson had been found and that he was safe, the

304
00:14:41,159 --> 00:14:42,559
old man was unable to answer.

305
00:14:42,639 --> 00:14:43,720
Speaker 3: He broke down and wept.

306
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,200
Speaker 5: In our communications with the Dayton, Ohio police, they told

307
00:14:47,279 --> 00:14:49,000
us that the boy had been found wandering along a

308
00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:51,759
highway just outside that city, and that he'd appeared to

309
00:14:51,759 --> 00:14:54,159
be in a kind of a dazed condition. The boy

310
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:56,440
told the Dayton officers that he'd been kidnapped a short

311
00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:58,919
distance from his home in Los Angeles by a man

312
00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,039
in a blue sedan. He gave them detailed descriptions of

313
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,159
both the man and the car. He told them that

314
00:15:04,159 --> 00:15:06,480
for the past nine months a man had held him prisoner,

315
00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,039
driving from state to state, never letting the boy out

316
00:15:09,039 --> 00:15:11,440
of his sight. He said the kidnapper told him on

317
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,600
several occasions that he was holding him for ransom and

318
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:15,639
that he was waiting to get money from his grandfather.

319
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,120
On May eighth, the youngster was returned to Los Angeles

320
00:15:19,159 --> 00:15:22,000
and reunited with his grandfather. On May tenth, we got

321
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,720
a call from the grandfather that he wanted to talk

322
00:15:23,759 --> 00:15:25,679
to us, Ben, and I drove out to see him.

323
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:29,440
Speaker 8: I'm right in ever since, glad to see it.

324
00:15:29,559 --> 00:15:31,120
Speaker 7: How are you, sir when I miss him?

325
00:15:31,559 --> 00:15:34,480
Speaker 8: Sorry to cause all this trouble chasing you out here.

326
00:15:34,399 --> 00:15:36,159
Speaker 3: Like this, not at all, sir. What is it you

327
00:15:36,159 --> 00:15:37,399
want to see us about?

328
00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:41,360
Speaker 9: Well, I'm not really sure about it, Sachan. That's the

329
00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:44,399
whole thing of it. I don't know if it's me

330
00:15:44,639 --> 00:15:45,480
or what it is.

331
00:15:46,159 --> 00:15:47,720
Speaker 7: What's bothering you, miss jim.

332
00:15:47,799 --> 00:15:51,200
Speaker 8: It's the boy, Jimmy, I don't know what to see.

333
00:15:51,679 --> 00:15:53,720
Speaker 3: Well, what do you mean, sir? He's all right, isn't he.

334
00:15:53,759 --> 00:15:55,360
Speaker 5: We saw him as we drove up, playing out in

335
00:15:55,399 --> 00:15:57,279
the backyard and the doctor checked him over here.

336
00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,799
Speaker 8: No, it's not that. The boy's healthy enough, nothing wrong

337
00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:01,159
with him.

338
00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:02,120
Speaker 3: Well, then what is it, sir?

339
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:06,679
Speaker 9: Maybe it sounds a little weird to you, but I'm

340
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,799
just not sure. You're not sure what that boyart there? Sergeant,

341
00:16:10,919 --> 00:16:13,000
I'm not sure he's really my grandson.

342
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,320
Speaker 4: You are in the communications division of a metropolitan police department,

343
00:16:27,559 --> 00:16:44,039
the Teletype Room.

344
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:39,720
Speaker 16: Forty three Los five twenty nine fifty one twelve oh

345
00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:43,279
three pm ap b WMA one fifty five t six,

346
00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:47,360
dark haired, dark eyes, wearing gray suit, no hat. Suspect

347
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,080
is wearing glasses, heavy build, twenty two years Suspect is

348
00:16:51,159 --> 00:16:52,440
armed with blue steel revolver.

349
00:16:52,919 --> 00:16:56,639
Speaker 17: Any information forward, You have just heard a teletype description

350
00:16:56,679 --> 00:16:59,679
of a suspect. This information will apply to many, but

351
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:07,880
screening will eliminate all but one.

352
00:17:09,279 --> 00:17:13,240
Speaker 5: Tuesday, May tenth, two pm, when the aging grandfather Oscar

353
00:17:13,279 --> 00:17:15,559
Sherman told us that he wasn't sure whether the recovered

354
00:17:15,559 --> 00:17:18,039
boy was really his grandson, Ben and I didn't know

355
00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:20,759
what to think. Our first reaction was that the shock

356
00:17:20,799 --> 00:17:23,160
of recovering the boy after he'd almost been given up

357
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:25,200
for lost, had been too much for the old man.

358
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,279
Mister Sherman admitted that there was no physical difference in

359
00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:30,160
the boy as far as he could see, but he

360
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,559
still insisted that there was something wrong, but the boy

361
00:17:32,599 --> 00:17:36,119
seemed different somehow. To satisfy the grandfather, Ben and I

362
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,000
talked to the boy, but he failed to give us

363
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,160
any reason to believe that he was not Jimmy Sherman.

364
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,599
We checked with the boy's friends, all the people in

365
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,039
the neighborhood who'd known Jimmy over a period of years.

366
00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:47,680
Speaker 3: They confirmed our opinion a few thought that.

367
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,880
Speaker 5: The youngster had changed a little, but no one had

368
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,640
any serious doubts about it. The boy was really Jimmy Sherman,

369
00:17:53,079 --> 00:17:56,519
so the matter was dropped. Thursday, May twelfth, Ben and

370
00:17:56,519 --> 00:17:58,079
I had lunch and then we checked back in at

371
00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:00,160
the office.

372
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,200
Speaker 7: Joe, I want to grab.

373
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:11,680
Speaker 3: That juvenile bureau Friday mister, Yes, sir, Yes, sir, how

374
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:11,960
are you?

375
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,720
Speaker 12: I want you to come out and take this boy? Gotcha?

376
00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,240
He's not my grandson, I'm sure of it.

377
00:18:17,319 --> 00:18:19,400
Speaker 3: Well, how do you mean, sir, This boy's got a.

378
00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,000
Speaker 12: Scar on his side.

379
00:18:22,079 --> 00:18:26,559
Speaker 7: Yes, sir, my grandson never had an operation in his life.

380
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,200
Speaker 5: Before we left the office, Ben and I briefed Inspector

381
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,079
Bowling on the phone call from the grandfather.

382
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:33,799
Speaker 3: Then we drove back to the Sherman house.

383
00:18:34,079 --> 00:18:36,680
Speaker 5: While Oscar Sherman didn't claim that he knew his grandson's

384
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,759
complete medical history, he was certain that the boy had

385
00:18:39,759 --> 00:18:41,480
not had his appendix out and that he had not

386
00:18:41,519 --> 00:18:44,799
had an operation. He told us that his neighbor, missus Keller,

387
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,960
could substantiate there that she had known Jimmy since.

388
00:18:47,759 --> 00:18:49,880
Speaker 3: He was a baby. We put in a call to

389
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,839
the Sherman's family doctor. He wasn't in.

390
00:18:52,279 --> 00:18:53,920
Speaker 5: We left a message, and then we went next door

391
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,319
to see missus Keller. We found her in the kitchen,

392
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:57,119
washing dishes.

393
00:18:59,799 --> 00:19:01,799
Speaker 6: Got couple more to rents. Can wait a minute, yes,

394
00:19:02,079 --> 00:19:13,400
of course, No, to tell you the truth, Sergeant. I

395
00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,759
just don't know what to think about mister Sherman. Maybe

396
00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:17,759
the whole thing was too much for him. As mine's

397
00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:18,359
going back up.

398
00:19:18,559 --> 00:19:20,599
Speaker 7: Do you at knowledge missus Keller was the boy ever

399
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:21,200
operated on?

400
00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,279
Speaker 6: No, not as far as I know. As possibly he

401
00:19:24,319 --> 00:19:27,079
did have an operation, I didn't hear about it. Sorry.

402
00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,799
As far as I'm concerned that boys, Jimmy Sherman, I

403
00:19:29,799 --> 00:19:31,640
don't know what his grandfather's up to with all that

404
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:32,240
silly talk.

405
00:19:32,599 --> 00:19:34,279
Speaker 5: Well, if it's not really the boy, we won't have

406
00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:35,799
too much trouble finding the truth.

407
00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,119
Speaker 6: There's no question in my mind. Of course it's Jimmy.

408
00:19:39,119 --> 00:19:40,960
Why when he was over here the other day he

409
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,279
talked about the party I gave for him one Halloween.

410
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,160
He even remembered the children who were there.

411
00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:47,799
Speaker 3: Are the other neighbors as sure about the boy as

412
00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:48,119
you are?

413
00:19:48,519 --> 00:19:51,640
Speaker 6: Just about mis Foster down the street. Jimmy was in

414
00:19:51,759 --> 00:19:54,160
to see her yesterday. He talked about some changes she'd

415
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,640
made in her living room, asked her about some relatives

416
00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:00,960
she has living out of town. Think about it. Jimmy

417
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,440
even remarked on that new trailer rose I planted out

418
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:07,319
in front science as the boy's dogs. Why they knew

419
00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:09,200
that youngster the minutity set foot in the yard.

420
00:20:09,319 --> 00:20:11,759
Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am, well, thank you very much, missus Keller. If

421
00:20:11,799 --> 00:20:13,559
we have any more questions, we'll contact CENTA.

422
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,279
Speaker 6: All right, sergeant, couldn't picture a cup of coffee? Could I?

423
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:16,640
Speaker 11: Oh?

424
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,640
Speaker 3: No, thank you to take the time now, poor.

425
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,000
Speaker 6: Mister Sherman, I don't know what to make of it.

426
00:20:22,599 --> 00:20:30,119
Speaker 7: I'm so mixed up, yes, ma'am, so are we.

427
00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,400
Speaker 5: We left the neighbor missus Keller, and went back next

428
00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:34,519
door to the Sherman house. The grandfather told us that

429
00:20:34,559 --> 00:20:36,680
the family doctor hadn't returned to our call yet.

430
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:38,880
Speaker 3: At three point thirty pm, the boy came.

431
00:20:38,759 --> 00:20:40,960
Speaker 5: Home from school, changed his clothes, and went out into

432
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,400
the backyard to play. We figured we had nothing to

433
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,079
lose in talking to the boy again. We found him

434
00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:48,039
in the small workshop at the rear of the garage,

435
00:20:48,079 --> 00:20:49,839
where he was sawing on a piece of plywood with

436
00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,519
a hacksaw. We talked to him for about twenty minutes.

437
00:20:52,599 --> 00:20:54,680
It was no different than the first time we interviewed him.

438
00:20:54,759 --> 00:20:56,119
It was relaxed and talkative.

439
00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:01,799
Speaker 10: Say would you hand me that hamm of their officer?

440
00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:05,400
Speaker 7: Oh? Yeah, yeah, here you go. Thanks.

441
00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:10,279
Speaker 10: Why do I ever get this thing finished? It's gonna

442
00:21:10,279 --> 00:21:14,279
be the best coaster around here. These are the wheels

443
00:21:14,279 --> 00:21:15,839
I'm gonna put on it. Pretty good, aren't they?

444
00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:16,119
Speaker 7: Yeah?

445
00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,640
Speaker 3: They look fine. Son. Do you like building things, coasters

446
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:20,559
and things like that? Oh?

447
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:22,279
Speaker 10: Yeah, I like it? Alright, it's fun.

448
00:21:25,559 --> 00:21:27,880
Speaker 7: Your granddad says you've changed quite a bit since you

449
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,200
got back. Jim says you didn't like working around the

450
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:31,000
shop here before.

451
00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:33,839
Speaker 10: Well, I guess I don't really. You know, once in

452
00:21:33,839 --> 00:21:35,400
a while, I like to come out and fool around.

453
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,240
Speaker 7: Have you seen mister Barlow down the street since you

454
00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:39,799
been back?

455
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,519
Speaker 10: Mister Barlow? No, I went down to see him, but

456
00:21:43,559 --> 00:21:46,200
he wasn't home. Maybe I'll go down and see him tomorrow.

457
00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:47,960
Speaker 3: His name isn't Barlow, is it, Ben? I thought it

458
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:48,640
was Robinson.

459
00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:51,640
Speaker 10: Oh yeah, that's all right, mister Robinson. Sometimes I forget.

460
00:21:55,839 --> 00:21:58,000
Speaker 3: How do you wouldn't your grandfather get along? Jim?

461
00:21:58,039 --> 00:21:58,359
Speaker 11: All right?

462
00:21:59,240 --> 00:21:59,440
Speaker 10: Oh?

463
00:21:59,720 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 6: Sure?

464
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,319
Speaker 10: Every once in a while. It's kind of funny at me.

465
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,039
I don't know. I guess he's still worried about that

466
00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:06,000
man taking me away.

467
00:22:06,039 --> 00:22:09,799
Speaker 3: You know all I've been feeling lately, Jim Okay, sure, I.

468
00:22:09,759 --> 00:22:16,200
Speaker 10: Feel fine, hardly ever get sick. That's good.

469
00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,319
Speaker 3: You ever been in the hospital, son, ull just.

470
00:22:20,319 --> 00:22:24,160
Speaker 10: Once had my appendix out. I hate hospitals. I can

471
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:25,480
I have that kend of nails there? Please?

472
00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,039
Speaker 7: Oh? Yeah, yeah, here you are.

473
00:22:28,839 --> 00:22:30,240
Speaker 10: I'm gonna make this good and strong.

474
00:22:30,279 --> 00:22:33,799
Speaker 3: You know, I'd like to ask you a question, Son, Yeah,

475
00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:34,720
what's your real name?

476
00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:37,240
Speaker 10: Jimmy Sherman?

477
00:22:37,319 --> 00:22:37,759
Speaker 6: You know that?

478
00:22:38,039 --> 00:22:39,640
Speaker 3: No, I'd like to have the truth. Son, Who are you?

479
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,160
Speaker 10: He must be fooling officers. You know who I am?

480
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:44,079
Jimmy Sherman.

481
00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,559
Speaker 5: No, Jimmy Sherman never had his appendix out, Son, But

482
00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:48,359
you did, and you've got a sky to prove it.

483
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:48,759
Speaker 3: Haven't you?

484
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,880
Speaker 10: Sure I had my appendix out? Ask my grandpa. He'll

485
00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:52,240
tell you.

486
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,759
Speaker 7: I'm Freddy, won't Son. He says he's not your grandfather.

487
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,839
He says you don't belong here. His grandson never had

488
00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:02,839
an operation in his life.

489
00:23:03,559 --> 00:23:05,279
Speaker 3: How about it's sin? Do you want to tell us

490
00:23:05,279 --> 00:23:05,599
about it?

491
00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,079
Speaker 10: Oh, Grandpa isn't feeling wrough. He doesn't know what he's seeing.

492
00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 3: Well, he knows you're done his grandson. Come on, what about.

493
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 10: It's son, all right, I'm not Jimmy Schuman.

494
00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:26,799
Speaker 5: He told us his real name was Donald Rush. He

495
00:23:26,799 --> 00:23:29,119
said he'd run away from his home in Springfield, Ohio,

496
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,480
two weeks before. He said that he'd been picked up

497
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:33,480
by the police on a highway just on the outskirts

498
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:34,799
of Dayton, Ohio.

499
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:36,160
Speaker 3: On returning the boy.

500
00:23:36,039 --> 00:23:38,119
Speaker 5: To the station, the police officers saw that he fitted

501
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,680
the description of the missing California boy perfectly, was almost

502
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,640
as if the two were identical twins. Under the impression

503
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,079
that the youngster was suffering from shock or amnesia, the

504
00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,160
police officers told him all about his home and his

505
00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,759
friends in California. They gave Donald Rush all the information

506
00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:55,200
that they had on the missing Sherman Boy, all the

507
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,079
newspaper stories, pictures, the dozens of teletypes and circulars which

508
00:23:59,079 --> 00:24:00,839
had been sent across the country in an effort to

509
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:03,880
locate the missing youngster. On his way out to California

510
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:05,839
on the train, the Rush boy was given dozens of

511
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,000
newspapers to read, which contained thousands of words concerning the

512
00:24:09,039 --> 00:24:11,920
disappearance of Jimmy Sherman. So by the time he got

513
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,279
to Los Angeles, Donald rush knew everything he had to

514
00:24:14,319 --> 00:24:17,359
know about the boy he was impersonating. We questioned the

515
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:21,640
Ohio youngster further. Besides an exceptionally high IQ, he admitted

516
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,640
to having an almost photographic memory. We took him in

517
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:26,480
the house to face the grandfather of the boy that

518
00:24:26,519 --> 00:24:29,160
he'd been impersonating. The boy was still missing.

519
00:24:32,759 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 7: Mister Sherman, Yes, sir, sit down, won't you. The boy

520
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,400
here has a confession for you. He wants to tell

521
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:40,000
you himself.

522
00:24:40,079 --> 00:24:42,960
Speaker 8: And I think I know I was right all along,

523
00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:43,720
wasn't my set.

524
00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:47,119
Speaker 10: I didn't mean anything by it, mister. I just thought

525
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,200
it'd be fun to make up like somebody else for

526
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:49,599
a while.

527
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:52,960
Speaker 3: You wouldn't know the difference was just no, sir, afraid

528
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,240
I wouldn't a picture over there on the mattle, I'm

529
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,200
the boy here. They look exactly alike to me.

530
00:24:58,079 --> 00:24:59,680
Speaker 8: There's only one thing I'd like to know.

531
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,279
Speaker 6: Yeah, why did you do it?

532
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:04,680
Speaker 8: Why'd you try and fool me?

533
00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,480
Speaker 10: I don't know, mister. I ran away from home and

534
00:25:07,599 --> 00:25:09,640
the cops picked me up in your date and he

535
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:12,039
thought my name was Jimmy Sherman. They said I was

536
00:25:12,079 --> 00:25:13,319
missing kids from California.

537
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:15,200
Speaker 3: Why didn't you straighten him out right then? Son?

538
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 10: I was kind of afraid if I told him what

539
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,039
my roommate was, they would have sent me back home.

540
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:21,799
So I just let him think I was really Jimmy Sherman,

541
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:23,480
and they seemed to be pretty sure I was.

542
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:25,799
Speaker 7: How long did you think you could keep it up, son,

543
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:27,119
pretending it were somebody I.

544
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,119
Speaker 10: Don't know, Yes, I never thought much about that. I

545
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,559
got here and everybody was nice to me. I just

546
00:25:33,559 --> 00:25:37,079
didn't think about anybody finding out, honest, mister, I didn't

547
00:25:37,079 --> 00:25:39,799
mean to do anything wrong. I didn't mean to hurt anybody.

548
00:25:40,079 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 8: And you never saw my grandson. You never saw it, Jimmy.

549
00:25:43,759 --> 00:25:46,200
Speaker 10: No, Sir, I just got on the train. They brought

550
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:46,720
me out here.

551
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,079
Speaker 3: You don't know where he is, You don't know how

552
00:25:49,119 --> 00:25:51,359
it is, or I'd try to take it easy, mister Sherman.

553
00:25:52,799 --> 00:25:53,720
Speaker 8: Why would you do it?

554
00:25:53,759 --> 00:25:54,960
Speaker 7: Boy?

555
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,799
Speaker 8: You're a stranger. Why would you try to fool me

556
00:25:58,839 --> 00:25:59,519
about Jimmy?

557
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,559
Speaker 10: Sorry, mister, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it.

558
00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:09,839
Speaker 11: Thought I hadn't.

559
00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:22,200
Speaker 10: Come on then, Sir, I didn't want to make him

560
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,720
cry like that, Sergeant, honest, I'm sorry. Couldn't you just

561
00:26:25,839 --> 00:26:26,960
let me stay here with him?

562
00:26:27,079 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 3: No, I'm afraid not, Sam, I don't.

563
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,319
Speaker 10: Do anything wrong. Don't you think I could just stay

564
00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:34,720
here with him. I'll go right back in there now,

565
00:26:34,759 --> 00:26:35,880
I'm telling him, I'm sorry.

566
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,799
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm sorry too, youngster, But you're not the boys

567
00:26:38,839 --> 00:26:39,440
looking for.

568
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,039
Speaker 2: The story you have just heard was true, only the

569
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,160
names were changed to protect the innocent.

570
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,680
Speaker 4: On Wednesday, May twentieth, the meeting was held at the

571
00:26:54,759 --> 00:26:58,000
Juvenile Bureau City in County of Los Angeles, State of California.

572
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:09,200
In a moment the results of that meeting, Donald Rush,

573
00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,200
who impersonated missing ten year old Jimmy Sherman, was returned

574
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,200
to the custody of his parents at their home in Springfield, Ohio.

575
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,440
Four months later, the body of Jimmy Sherman was discovered

576
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,160
buried on a farm on the outskirts of Riverside, California.

577
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:23,839
The boy had been murdered. His killer, a farmer in

578
00:27:23,839 --> 00:27:27,359
the neighborhood, was subsequently apprehended and brought to trial. He

579
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:29,440
was found guilty of murder in the first degree and

580
00:27:29,559 --> 00:27:42,799
was executed at the state penitentiary San Quentin, California. You

581
00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,920
have just heard Dragnet, a series of authentic cases from

582
00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,200
official files. Technical advice comes from the Office of Chief

583
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:52,240
of Police W. H. Parker, Los Angeles Police Department.

584
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:56,359
Speaker 7: Stay tuned for Cowver Spy next over most NBC.

585
00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:05,160
Speaker 3: Stations, welcome back.

586
00:28:05,279 --> 00:28:09,079
Speaker 1: This is one of those stories which is stranger than fiction.

587
00:28:09,799 --> 00:28:13,079
If you were telling this story on another detective show

588
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,480
about a ten year old boy who was able to

589
00:28:15,559 --> 00:28:21,440
impersonate another ten year old boy on newspaper accounts and

590
00:28:21,599 --> 00:28:26,559
mistaken identity, people would say, yeah, this is really far fetch,

591
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:30,720
that would never really happen. But given dragnettes based on

592
00:28:30,759 --> 00:28:34,319
a true story setup, you've got to treat it as credible.

593
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:40,000
I did find myself wondering about this imposter kid's home life.

594
00:28:40,039 --> 00:28:44,119
He clearly did not want to go home. Now. Of course,

595
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,279
sometimes kids do that for you know, perfectly normal, reasonable reasons,

596
00:28:49,319 --> 00:28:52,799
but sometimes there's more going on there, and I wonder

597
00:28:52,839 --> 00:28:57,359
whether that would have been interrogated more if this sort

598
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,680
of thing were to happen today. All right, well, listener

599
00:29:00,799 --> 00:29:05,079
comments and feedback and have a comment from Alfred on

600
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,519
YouTube looking for a Joe Friday fan fiction of the

601
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,400
war years. Thanks for the comment. Now, we do know

602
00:29:14,799 --> 00:29:20,440
from the episode The Big Escape that Joe Friday did

603
00:29:20,559 --> 00:29:25,680
serve in World War Two, and that episode also introduced

604
00:29:25,759 --> 00:29:31,039
us to one of his war bodies, but after that

605
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,640
we don't have any information of what went on. Now,

606
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:38,759
I'm not aware of anyone having taken up to write this,

607
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,559
and I am aware of dragging that fan fiction. And

608
00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:48,000
while it's not inherently interesting, it could be interesting depending

609
00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:52,519
on what people were able to come up with. You know,

610
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,880
Joe Friday was one of those war veterans who just

611
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,039
didn't talk about it, and there were a lot of

612
00:30:00,039 --> 00:30:03,559
of men who served in war who were like that.

613
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,960
My wife's grandfather was one of those. So there'd be

614
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,160
a lot of room to speculate. Your only limitations really

615
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,000
in writing something like that, if you were wanting to

616
00:30:15,039 --> 00:30:19,160
be consistent at all, is you'd have to listen to

617
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,920
The Big Escape and stay within the confines of the

618
00:30:23,799 --> 00:30:29,079
limited information that is revealed about Joe's war service in

619
00:30:29,119 --> 00:30:31,640
that episode, because I think that's the only one it's

620
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:32,759
talked about.

621
00:30:33,039 --> 00:30:33,240
Speaker 7: Now.

622
00:30:33,279 --> 00:30:36,480
Speaker 1: If you wanted to take an old time radio episode

623
00:30:36,599 --> 00:30:40,640
and treat it as fan fiction about Joe Friday's war service.

624
00:30:41,279 --> 00:30:45,759
You could take the episode Operation Fleur de Lee, where

625
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,160
the character played by Jack Webb is not giving his

626
00:30:49,359 --> 00:30:52,720
real name because he's afraid of what might happen to him.

627
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:58,359
That character is pretty different from Joe Friday, but the

628
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:04,039
events of that story could be seen as so traumatically

629
00:31:05,759 --> 00:31:10,880
transformative that they led to changes in personality. I think

630
00:31:11,079 --> 00:31:15,240
that might be the only World War two old time

631
00:31:15,359 --> 00:31:20,839
radio episode with Jack Webb. Of course it was broadcast

632
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,519
after the war. But thanks for the comment, and I

633
00:31:23,559 --> 00:31:26,839
do want to go ahead and thank Kelly, Patreon supporter

634
00:31:27,079 --> 00:31:31,519
since July twenty seventeen, currently supporting the podcast at the

635
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,480
Shawmus level of four dollars or more per month. Thanks

636
00:31:34,519 --> 00:31:36,880
so much for your support, Kelly, and that will do

637
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,200
it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow

638
00:31:40,279 --> 00:31:44,640
us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to

639
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,880
rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from.

640
00:31:48,279 --> 00:31:51,880
We'll be back next Thursday with another episode of Dragnet.

641
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,400
But join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny

642
00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:56,519
Dollar where.

643
00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,359
Speaker 10: Picking us up in the air.

644
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,079
Speaker 15: Take a deep one, Johnny, you smell it?

645
00:32:02,119 --> 00:32:06,920
Speaker 4: Tell us not kerosene. How I don't think it's gasoline either.

646
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,039
Speaker 2: Ib at trumping highly inflammable. The boys that chemical truck

647
00:32:11,039 --> 00:32:13,640
could get it out, and I learn something first.

648
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 4: These stores always stuck a lot.

649
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,440
Speaker 2: Of cleaning fluid stuff like that hus that are not inflammable.

650
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,000
Speaker 7: Well, how much, honey, look out.

651
00:32:24,839 --> 00:32:27,359
Speaker 1: I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime,

652
00:32:27,759 --> 00:32:32,680
send your comments to Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net,

653
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,759
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us

654
00:32:36,759 --> 00:32:42,359
out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com slash Great Detectives from

655
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:47,240
Boise Ataho. This is your host, Adam Graham signing off.

