Kidnappings Are Rare and Unpredictable

Matthew Mangino
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

The desperate search for Nancy Guthrie continues in Tucson, Ariz. Guthrie is the mother of NBC's "Today Show" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Guthrie has been missing for over a week, and concern grows about her physical health and the possibility of her kidnapping for ransom.

Kidnapping for ransom is a relic of a bygone era. The most notable kidnappings of the last century have been resolved in various ways, including returned unharmed, battered, deceased and incarcerated. With past kidnappings as a guide, it is anyone's guess as to the outcome of Guthrie's disappearance.

Maybe the most well-known kidnapping of the twentieth century was the abduction of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. The 20-month-old Lindbergh was abducted on March 1, 1932, from his crib in the family's posh New Jersey home.
Updated: Tue Feb 10, 2026

The desperate search for Nancy Guthrie continues in Tucson, Ariz. Guthrie is the mother of NBC's "Today Show" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Guthrie has been missing for over a week, and concern grows about her physical health and the possibility of her kidnapping for ransom.

Kidnapping for ransom is a relic of a bygone era. The most notable kidnappings of the last century have been resolved in various ways, including returned unharmed, battered, deceased and incarcerated. With past kidnappings as a guide, it is anyone's guess as to the outcome of Guthrie's disappearance.

Maybe the most well-known kidnapping of the twentieth century was the abduction of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. The 20-month-old Lindbergh was abducted on March 1, 1932, from his crib in the family's posh New Jersey home.

Lindbergh's father, Charles Lindbergh, Sr., was an international celebrity as a result of completing the first nonstop solo transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. His celebrity made his family a target.

A ransom note was left in the child's crib, and several other notes were sent over several weeks. A ransom was paid in April, and the child was not returned. On May 12, the child's battered body was discovered on the side of a road by a truck driver not more than five miles from the Lindbergh home.

More than two years after Lindbergh's murder, a German immigrant, Bruno Hauptmann, was arrested. He was convicted of first-degree murder and executed in 1936.

Little more than 30 years later, Frank Sinatra, Jr. was kidnapped after a performance in Lake Tahoe in 1963. Sinatra was the 19-year-old son of the renowned singer and actor Frank Sinatra.

The kidnappers demanded a large sum of money. Frank, Sr., gathered the ransom of $240,000 and delivered the money as directed. His son was safely returned.

A police investigation revealed that Barry Keenan, Joe Amsler and John Irwin conspired to kidnap Frank Jr. for ransom. Apparently, Keenan was a former classmate of Frank Jr.'s sister Nancy Sinatra. The conspirators were convicted and sentenced to prison.

About 10 years later, John Paul Getty III, the grandson of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, was kidnapped in Rome, Italy. Getty's abductors had originally demanded $17 million. Getty's grandfather, once the richest man in the world, refused to pay.

After the refusal, Getty's severed ear was mailed to a newspaper. The family relented and paid a renegotiated ransom. Getty was released about five months after his kidnapping. After his return, Getty's life spiraled into alcohol and drug addiction. He overdosed in1981 at the age of 25, leaving him severely disabled for the rest of his life.

Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in 1974. She was the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Her kidnapping did not unfold like other high-profile kidnappings.

Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). Initially, the SLA had offered to release Hearst if authorities would release a jailed SLA member. When the state of California refused, the SLA demanded that the Hearst family give every needy Californian $70 for food.

However, something strange happened while Hearst was in captivity. She became sympathetic to her captors; she joined the SLA and was involved in criminal activity, including a bank robbery where she appeared on video surveillance with an automatic weapon.

Hearst was later found by police. Instead of being reunited with her family, she was jailed. At her trial, the prosecution suggested that Hearst had willingly joined the SLA. However, she testified that she had been sexually assaulted and threatened with death while held captive.

In 1976, she was convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Her sentence was commuted by former President Jimmy Carter, resulting in her release from prison. She was later pardoned by former President Bill Clinton.

Other than Sinatra, the kidnappings chronicled here — good, bad or tragic — were not resolved for months.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book "The Executioner's Toll," 2010, was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino