Chapter 8 Summary and Analysis

On the evening of March 1, 1932, Charles Jr. was kidnapped from his second-story nursery at the Hopewell estate. The nurse, Betty Gow, discovered the child was missing, and Lindbergh, at home in the study, immediately called the police. A crude, homemade ladder was found outside the home, and a chisel was also found that the kidnapper used to pry open the window shutter.

The investigation was handled by the head of the New Jersey State Police, Colonel Normal Schwarzkopf. More a military man than a policeman, Schwarzkopf had little training in proper police procedure, and he often deferred to Lindbergh's advice because of hero worship. The author characterizes the investigation of the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby as a bungled mess. Important forensic clues at the scene were ruined by inept policemen as well as media people tramping around the grounds. Schwarzkopf...