William F. Gettle, kidnapping victim, is reunited with his four children (twins Betty and Bobby, and sons Billy and Jimmy) upon his homecoming.Gettle, Beverly Hills millionaire and businessman, was kidnapped from the grounds of his Arcadia ranch home during a party on the eve of May 9th. The kidnapping attracted a great deal of attention in the community, with Mrs. Gettle even addressing the kidnappers through the pages of the Los Angeles Times. The kidnappers demanded a $60,000 ransom for the return of Gettle, which Mrs. Gettle agreed to pay. However, before the ransom was paid, two detectives of the LAPD, Chester Burris and H.P. Gearhardt, broke the case after installing a dictaphone in the home of a bank robbery suspect. Information from the dictaphone led them to a La Crescenta home where Gettle was held. He was returned, unharmed, to his family on the eve of May 14th.
William F. Gettle, (center, dark glasses) is returned to his Beverly Hills home after being kidnapped and held for ransom.Gettle, businessman and millionaire, was kidnapped from the grounds of his Arcadia ranch home during a party on the eve of May 9th. The kidnapping attracted a great deal of attention in the community, with Mrs. Gettle even addressing the kidnappers through the pages of the Los Angeles Times. The kidnappers demanded a $60,000 ransom for the return of Gettle, which Mrs. Gettle agreed to pay. However, before the ransom was paid, two detectives of the LAPD, Chester Burris and H.P. Gearhardt, broke the case after installing a dictaphone in the home of a bank robbery suspect. Information from the dictaphone led them to a La Crescenta home where Gettle was held. He was returned, unharmed, to his family on the eve of May 14th.
A photograph of Chief of Beverly Hills Police Charles C. Blair, District Attorney Buron Fitts, and lawyer Ernest E. Noon. The three men were involved in the search for kidnapping victim William F. Gettle and the prosecution of the kidnappers after Gettle's safe recovery.Charles C. Blair was the first Chief of Police of Beverly Hills, serving from 1927-1942. Ernest E. Noon was the attorney of the Gettle family. He was intimitely involved with the attempts to recover William F. Gettle, directing via the Los Angeles Times that the kidnappers send any ransom requests to him, as Mrs. Fleeta Gettle was ill with nervous prostration after the kidnapping of her husband and under medical supervision.Buron Fitts was the district attorney of Los Angeles from 1928-1940. Fitts was in charge of co-ordinating the police agencies in their search for Gettle and his kidnappers.
