Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D376-2
Date(s)
- 1936-12-28 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Mattson kidnapping case. Bluff behind the home of Dr. William Mattson at 4605 No. Verde. On December 27, 1936, a masked gunman abducted ten year old Charles Mattson from his home. It is believed that he carried the boy down this steep cliff to a waiting car on Ruston Way. A ransom of $28,000 was demanded for the boy's safe return. The note was typed in purple ink on a child's typing set. All communications with the kidnapper were to be made through classified ads in the Seattle Times. Newspapers from across the nation publicized every event in the case. Within 48 hours, the Northwest was hit with frigid temperatures and record snowfall. Concern grew for the lightly clad boy who was recovering from a severe cold. The days dragged on as the frantic Mattsons attempted to contact the kidnapper. The body of the boy was found in a snowbank in a wooded area near Everett on January 10, 1937. He had been dead for 5-6 days. His murderer was never found. (T. Times 12/28/1936 - 1/25/1937, pg. 1)
Kidnappings--Tacoma--1930-1940; Mattson, Charles--Kidnappings;