Infamous America - KIDNAPPINGS Ep. 4 | George Weyerhaeuser: “Down in Hole”

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

By the early 1900s Frederick Weyerhaeuser was known as the “Lumber King” and had amassed a fortune in the Pacific Northwest. The wealth generated from his timber empire was on par with the Rockefe...llers, the Carnegies, and the Vanderbilts and as it kept getting passed down to the next generation, it kept growing. But it also made his family a target, specifically his great grandson George Weyerhaeuser, in what turned out to be one of the most bizarre kidnappings in American History. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join   Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.   On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage.   For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:10 In the movies, bad things usually happen at night or on dark, dreary days. But May 24, 1935, was brighter than usual in Tacoma, Washington. It was a rare sunny day amidst the typical spring rains. For nine-year-old George Warehouser, it felt like an unexpected gift, and the gifts kept coming. That morning, Lowell Elementary School surprised its students by letting them out 15 minutes early for lunch. George, along with two friends, left the school at 11.45 a.m., feeling the joyous freedom which only school kids feel when they don't have to be in school. They kicked rocks down the sidewalk and chatted about the usual boyhood topics. Their conversation tumbled from one subject to the next until they started to debate who could jump the highest.
Starting point is 00:01:03 That segued into strategies for their Little League baseball team, and soon they marveled at the players they idolized. George couldn't help but smile when they brought up George Herman, Babe Ruth. After all, he and the babe, the greatest player of all time, shared a name, and that wasn't lost on his friends. As George's friends approached their respective homes, they peeled away one by one, leaving George to head toward his sister Anne's school. His usual routine was to meet her at lunchtime. Their family chauffeur, Oswald, would collect them and take them home for lunch.
Starting point is 00:01:40 but George's early dismissal tempted him to veer off course. George tried to bide his time outside Anne's school. He paced back and forth and waited for her school to let out for lunch. But he was a nine-year-old kid who was brimming with energy. His mind began to wander, and it wasn't long before he had an idea. George decided he would surprise Anne by heading home to make sandwiches for their lunch. Everything would be ready when she arrived. It felt like a small way he could repay his sister.
Starting point is 00:02:16 She was the oldest of four siblings, and she often looked after George and the others. That settled it. George knew Anne may initially wonder where he was, but he was confident Anne would approve of his plan when she got home. Taking a familiar route, George walked past the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club. He greeted other people with cheerful waves and searched for rocks to kick along the way. It was a short journey, and he had walked that way many times before. Meanwhile, Anne's school led out for lunch, and she met up with the family's driver Oswald. They noticed George wasn't there, but neither panicked.
Starting point is 00:02:55 After waiting for a while, they reasoned George must have walked home already, and Oswald drove them to the family's mansion. The Warehouser family was one of the richest in the U.S., though it was not nearly as well known as the Rockefellers or the Vanderbilt's or the Morgans. When Anne and Oswald arrived home, they found no George and no sandwiches. They were concerned, but they reassured each other that he probably stopped at a friend's house. Just in case, Oswald decided to patrol the neighborhood. He scanned sidewalks and pathways, but he found no sign of George.
Starting point is 00:03:32 He wouldn't have, because at that moment, George was lying under a heavy blanket on the floorboards of a car as it sped out of town. Within an hour, he would be blindfolded and chained to a board in a hole in the ground, which looked like a shallow grave. And the next six days would be no less strange or dramatic than that first hour. From Black Barrel Media, this is infamous America. I'm your host Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling stories of some of the most notorious kidnappings in American history, the crazy events which surrounded each abduction, and the chaotic investigations of the cases. This is episode four, George Warehouser, down in a hole. Frederick Warehouser started to build the family fortune shortly after he immigrated from Germany
Starting point is 00:04:38 to America in 1851 at the age of 17. After settling in Rock Island, Illinois, he married and began a sawmill business that quickly grew into an empire. His career was a roller coaster of highs and lows, but Frederick had a gift for management, and he skillfully navigated business risks. In the early 1900s, when he was in his late 60s, he moved his growing lumber business to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Soon, he owned more timberland than anyone else in America, and he earned the title of Lumber King. Once, a journalist described him as richer than Rockefeller. That was a bit of an exaggeration. No one was richer than oil baron John D. Rockefeller, and it's possible that no one ever will be. But Frederick Warehouser is still considered the 12th richest man in American history, just behind
Starting point is 00:05:33 Bill Gates at number 11. Despite his wealth, Frederick led a highly private life. His peers included other famous families of the age, the Rockefellers, Carnegie's, and Vanderbilt's. But unlike them, Frederick avoided the public eye. He donated generously to charity, and he remained reserved in his social engagements, a practice which was followed by his seven children. His eldest son, John Weirhouser Jr., inherited both his father's work ethic and the responsibility of maintaining the family's growing legacy. John Sr.'s stewardship of the Warehouser Company ensured its continued success, which has lasted until this day. Warehouser lumber, is still used in construction projects across the country.
Starting point is 00:06:19 As the roaring 20s cratered into the Great Depression, John Sr. became acutely aware of the physical dangers which could follow extreme wealth. Kidnappings began to haunt the era's wealthiest families, and John Sr. was a worrier by nature. When little George Warehouser, John Sr.'s grandson and his siblings visited, their grandfather dropped everything to entertain, but never lost sight of them. John Sr. refused a bodyguard himself, but he instructed all staff and family to keep careful
Starting point is 00:06:52 watch over the children at all times when they were on his property. No doubt he would have been horrified to learn that his obituary led directly to his grandson's kidnapping. John Sr.'s passing made headlines, especially in the state of Washington. Eight days after his death, Margaret Whaley was reading the newspaper aloud to her husband, Harmon Whaley and his friend William Mayhan when she came across John Sr.'s obituary. The trio were in Spokane, Washington, about five hours east of the warehouser homestead in Tacoma. And that was how easily and randomly the kidnapping seed was planted. Harmon and Margaret had been married for about 18 months. Harmon was 23 years old and Margaret was
Starting point is 00:07:41 19. They'd met in Salt Lake City in November 1933 and married just a week later. Margaret came from a large, devout Mormon family of 13 siblings, and she believed her role was to be an obedient supporter of her husband. Harmon had a troubled past, which included petty crimes. The dangerous side of Harmon was attractive to Margaret, though he pledged to lead a better, more honest life. She saw it as a part of her mission to keep him on that path and help him find religion in the process. early days were filled with affection. Harman adored Margaret and counted on her loyalty as he worked odd jobs to scratch out a meager existence. As financial pressures grew, Margaret tried to delicately
Starting point is 00:08:30 encourage Harmon to find steady work without adding to his burden. But the anxiety lifted one afternoon when Harmon returned home from a day of errands with William Mayhan. Harmon introduced William as an old friend, and the newlyweds invited William to stay for dinner. Dinner turned into a lively evening outing, and William became a fast friend. William was jovial and generous, and he paid for everything. He said he had a well-paying job selling kitchen stoves, and Margaret started to believe maybe he was the answer to their prayers. William had a car, a steady income, and charm. She started to hope William could help Harmon, and it sounded like William could. He suggested they all head northwest to the state of Washington, where he had some appliance sales opportunities. William
Starting point is 00:09:21 said there might be a chance he could get Harmon a job. Margaret and Harmon didn't hesitate. Any glimmer of steady work was worth chasing. They packed up and moved to Spokane. My relentless sleep problems have always come from an overactive mind. I lay in bed at night with my mind racing from one thing to another, and then, of course, I have a brainstorm about something new. That lights the fire, and then I'm in real trouble. To calm my mind, the only things that have ever worked with any consistency are sleep gummies. Sleepy Time Advanced Gummies from Mood.com
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Starting point is 00:10:29 Go to Mood.com and use the code infamous to get 20% off your first order. And they have a 100-day satisfaction guarantee. Mood.com promo code infamous. The trio settled into a small cottage. Each day, the men left for long stretches to call on potential clients for William's kitchen stove business.
Starting point is 00:10:55 Sometimes they were gone for a day, sometimes several days. Margaret stayed behind and waited for updates. She tried not to pry, but she couldn't help but ask about Harmon's progress. Each time she asked if Harmon had sold any stoves, his answers were vague. They meandered in circles
Starting point is 00:11:13 until they inevitably ended with a quiet no. Margaret's unease grew as their situation remained stagnant. The reality, which she learned later, was far worse than a failure to sell kitchen stoves. For weeks, William had dragged Harmon
Starting point is 00:11:30 from one bank to another across the Pacific Northwest, scoping out targets for robberies. The kitchen stove business was a lie. And now, as Harmon realized he was in over his head, his own lies to Margaret weighed heavy on his mind. Harmon wanted no part of William's bank robbery plans, but he wasn't strong enough to say no. The first lie Harmon had told his wife was that William was simply an old friend. The truth was, William had been Harmon's protector while they were both in prison.
Starting point is 00:12:03 Beyond the fact that Harmon owed William for the protection, William had a forceful personality. and he could bend Harmon to his will. Harmon had been behind bars for petty crimes like stealing bikes, drunken mischief, and disorderly conduct. But William was serving 20 years for grand larceny. From the beginning, William had been a magnetic and dangerous figure. Locked up together, William's violent and manipulative tendencies were matched by his ability to command loyalty.
Starting point is 00:12:39 Harmon had relied on William's protection, and when Harmon was released, he hadn't expected William to show up right behind him. Harmon met Margaret and they quickly got married. Harmon seemed serious about turning his life around, and then William found him. Knowing Williams passed with larceny, Harmon couldn't have been surprised when he found out William wasn't a kitchen stove salesman. By that point, Harmon had been struggling to make money, and he allowed himself to believe that he could go along with William's bank robbery plans
Starting point is 00:13:11 if it meant financial stability. As it turned out, William had a different plan, one which he had not shared with Harmon. One day, as the pair drove back to Spokane, William veered the car onto a dirt logging road that seemed to lead nowhere. The forest thickened as they drove deeper. Eventually, William stopped and told Harmon to get out. They trudged through the brambles and mud until a fallen tree blocked their path. Harmon thought they'd reached the end, but William told him to climb over it.
Starting point is 00:13:45 On the other side, Harmon saw a pit that was roughly four feet deep and could be covered by a makeshift lid of tar paper and wooden planks camouflaged with leaves. Chains were bolted to a board at the bottom of the pit. As Harmon stared into the hole, William said, as calmly as if he were discussing the weather, I was going to put some guy from Seattle in there, but I realized he didn't have any money. In addition to bank robbery, William had been planning a kidnapping. The pit, with its chains and trap door, was an underground jail cell. Then William handed Harmon a bundle of papers.
Starting point is 00:14:22 I want you to re-type these, William instructed. The papers were crude ransom notes. William hadn't gone through with the first kidnapping, but it was clear he hadn't dropped the idea. There was a part of Harmon which had enjoyed the thrill of planning bank robberies, even though he had promised Margaret he would stay out of trouble. But kidnapping and holding a person hostage in a hole in the ground in the middle of the woods, that was something else altogether.
Starting point is 00:14:50 In the end, there was only ever going to be one response. Sure, Harmon said, and he took the ransom notes. Harmon was weighed down by his doubts and growing web of lies. But William had promised life-changing money, quick and easy, and Harmon had agreed. On their way back to Spokane, they stopped by a store to buy supplies for retyping the notes, even though they didn't have an intended victim. Surprisingly, life felt normal over the next few days. Harmon, Margaret, and William played card games in the evenings.
Starting point is 00:15:30 William and Harmon continued to go out driving during the day, and Margaret continued to have no idea what they were doing. Then, in mid-May, 1935, Margaret was reading the newspaper, and she saw an obituary for John Warehouser Sr., a renowned lumber tycoon. She had seen a name Warehouser in the area, and now she read the obituary out loud to Harmon and William. About five hours west of them, in Tacoma, south of Seattle, one of America's richest men had just passed away due to a short illness. Margaret skimmed the news and thought no more about it. The next day, William casually mentioned they were moving to Seattle.
Starting point is 00:16:12 for, quote, business opportunities. Margaret had no reason to doubt him. She was excited about the possibilities. Seattle was about an hour north of Tacoma where the Warehouser family lived, and Margaret, of course, had no idea that the business opportunity they were pursuing was a kidnapping.
Starting point is 00:16:34 The three of them settled into a small apartment, and the men paid a visit to John Sr.'s mansion. The grandeur didn't go unnoticed, but neither did the stillness. There were no children there. John Sr.'s kids had long since grown up, and they had kids of their own. William and Harmon shifted focus to John Jr.'s home. The first things they saw were two of John Jr.'s four children, 10-year-old JP and 9-year-old George. With the death of John Sr., John Jr. was in the process of taking over the family business. One day, presumably, John Jr. would pass the business to JP or George.
Starting point is 00:17:14 But for now, the two boys were valuable prizes in the very dangerous game that William and Harmon were playing. William and Harmon quietly began observing the children. Anne was the oldest at 12, then JP, then George, then Frederick. As William and Harmon followed the kids day by day, they learned the patterns. They discovered George's routine of walking to Anne's school at lunchtime before both kids were picked up by the chauffeur Oswald and driven home for lunch. The decision became clear. Nine-year-old George Warehouser was the target.
Starting point is 00:17:52 As the surveillance increased, Harmon's unease intensified until he eventually asked, so are we really doing this? Williams' response was cold and matter-of-fact. That's the job. Every day in a William's green car, they followed George and saw that his routine
Starting point is 00:18:10 was predictable and almost mechanical, except on the very last day of surveillance. They planned to follow George for one more day, May 24, 1935, to confirm his routine before they made their move. And that happened to be the day that George's school let the kids out 15 minutes early for lunch. William and Harmon were in William's car outside George's school, when George and his two friends exited the building earlier than normal. The boys kicked rocks along the road and laughed and chatted. Then George's friends peeled away, and George carried on alone. He finished the walk to his sister's school and stood outside for a few minutes before he broke his routine.
Starting point is 00:19:00 He started walking again, and William decided he and Harmon weren't going to wait another day. They knew George would walk past a tennis club down the street, and William instructed Harmon to pull the car up to the curb near the club. Harmon obeyed. A few seconds later, George appeared from behind a hedge along the sidewalk. William was already out of the car and approaching the boy. William offered a cheerful greeting and said, Hey, son, how do I get to Stadium Way?
Starting point is 00:19:30 George had just started to respond when William grabbed him and shoved him into the back seat of the car. William pushed George down to the floorboards and covered him with a heavy blanket. William ordered George to keep his mouth shut and he wouldn't be hurt. hurt. Harmon pulled away from the curb and started a drive which felt endless to George, but was about an hour in reality. When the car stopped, George was still huddled under the blanket and obviously terrified. Then someone whisked off the blanket and pulled him out of the car. The two men from the car now wore masks over their faces, and they were standing in a forest. One of the
Starting point is 00:20:09 men thrust an envelope toward George and told him to sign his name. George has to be a man. George hesitated. He didn't know what he was signing, but he didn't have a choice. He scrawled his name in shaky print, and now the men had what they needed for his proof of life. The kidnappers wrapped a blindfold around him and guided him through the forest. He stumbled alongside his kidnappers, as brambles brushed his legs and the sound of rushing water filled his ears. At the sound of the water, George could no longer contain his fear, and he asked, you're not going to throw me in the river, are you? William said, don't worry, kid, you're worth too much to throw away. William and Harmon led George past the fallen tree to the covered pit.
Starting point is 00:20:59 When the two men lowered George into what appeared to be a grave-sized hole, George could only partially see his surroundings. They instructed him to sit on a board in the hole while they chained his arms and legs. They pulled the camouflage cover over the pit, and then George was in total darkness. He removed his blindfold, but it did nothing to help. Above ground, William remained with George, while Harmon trekked off to send the ransom note and bring back food. Harmon drove back into town and posted the ransom note as a special mail delivery letter.
Starting point is 00:21:36 Then he headed to the apartment in Seattle where Margaret was waiting. He arrived home at about 5.30 p.m. It had been about five hours since he and William had kidnapped George Warehouser. At the apartment, Harmon asked Margaret to prepare an extremely late lunch for he and William. As she prepared the food, the Warehouser family received the ransom note. George's home had been a place of intensifying chaos all afternoon. Twelve-year-old Anne Warehouser had returned home with the chauffeur Oswald at lunchtime as usual. Anne and Oswald weren't overly concerned that George hadn't met them for lunch,
Starting point is 00:22:16 but Oswald had patrolled the neighborhood anyway. He hadn't seen the boy, but they figured George was playing with friends. When Anne's father, John Warehouser Jr., arrived home that afternoon, the situation became more concerning. John's father, John Sr., had died just eight days earlier, and emotions were still raw. Now, John Jr. returned home to discover George hadn't been seen or heard from in several hours. John Jr. immediately called the police. It didn't take long for the news to reach FBI director Jay Edgar Hoover, and he personally sent five agents to the warehouser home. By the time the ransom note arrived at 6.30 p.m., the house was filled with police officers and FBI agents. John Jr. opened the
Starting point is 00:23:12 note and read it aloud to the police and FBI agents. The demand was $200,000 in unmarked $5, $10, and $20 bill. The kidnappers would give John five days to gather the money if he wanted to see George alive. The note also ordered him to not involve the police. To confirm the deal, the note directed John to place a personal ad in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer under the code name Percy Minnie. In 1935, $200,000 would be roughly $4.6 million today, and John Jr. would need every minute of the five days to gather that much money. But without hesitation, he placed the ad to confirm the ransom. Meanwhile, Harmon Whaley left Seattle at about 9 p.m. and drove back out to the forest.
Starting point is 00:24:06 He reunited with William Mayhan, and they uncovered the pit to feed George the food made by Margaret. And now, in the darkness of the forest, William and Harmon decided the pit could be too easily discovered. They dragged George out and began digging a second hole. George waited near a tree while they worked. When they finished, they threw a couple blankets and forced George into the pit. He spent most of the next 36 hours in the second hole in the ground. That was Friday night, May 24th, the day of the kidnapping, Saturday, May 25th, and Saturday night, and then into Sunday morning, May 26th. On Sunday morning, William and Harmon realized a major flaw in their plan. A hole in the forest wouldn't be sustainable for a five-day wait for the ransom money.
Starting point is 00:24:58 Not only was it logistically difficult, but the freshly dug second hole had unearthed bugs and spiders which could bite George and make him sick. Harmon drove to Seattle, collected Margaret, and took her out to the forest. Until that time, she hadn't suspected anything was amiss. She still genuinely believed Harmon and William were driving around trying to sell kitchen stoves. But in the forest, things started to get weird. The two men didn't want to involve her in the kidnapping, but their plan was unraveling, and now they had to make it up as they went.
Starting point is 00:25:38 Harmon forced Margaret to crouch down in the front of the car and shield her eyes. She couldn't ask questions. She just had to do it. When she did, she heard the trunk slam shut a few seconds. later. She didn't know that Harmon and William had taken George out of the second hole and bundled him into the trunk of the car. They spent the rest of the day driving all the way across the state of Washington. They briefly stopped in Idaho and then turned around and drove back to the cottage they continued to rent in Spokane, Washington. Along the way, Margaret started to understand the
Starting point is 00:26:14 gravity of the situation, even though the two men refused to talk about it directly. During a stop on the long drive, George had asked a question from the trunk of the car. When Margaret heard a child's voice coming from the trunk, she obviously had questions, but she wasn't forceful about trying to get answers. When they reached the cottage, she once again shielded her eyes while the trunk lid opened and closed. William and Harmon moved George into the cottage and stashed him in a closet with a blanket and a bucket. Another full day passed before Margaret finally learned the full truth. On Tuesday morning, May 28th, William acknowledged the kidnapping and explained the next steps.
Starting point is 00:27:01 William would take Margaret to Seattle to coordinate the ransom drop while Harmon stayed in Spokane with George. When William went to another part of the cottage to pack a few things, Margaret pressed Harmon for answers. She wanted to know how he let the kidnapping happen and why, why he didn't try to stop it. Harmon simply stammered that it happened too quickly and he didn't know what to do. William had threatened to kill Harmon, Margaret, and the boy, so Harmon felt he had to go along with it. With that, William and Margaret set off for Seattle. The next day would be Wednesday, May 29, five days after the kidnapping and deadline day for the ransom money.
Starting point is 00:27:42 George was still a prisoner, but a mattress in a closet felt like luxury compared to holes in the forest. Harmon was not as menacing as William. He fed George well and engaged him in conversation, which eased the boys' anxieties. In the Seattle-Tacoma region, William and Margaret devised a complicated ransom plan. They sent a note to George's house
Starting point is 00:28:13 with instructions for his father, John Jr. The note ordered John Jr. to take the money to the ambassador hotel in Tacoma. He should check into a room under the name James Paul Jones to avoid the media. John Jr. had secured the ransom money, and the FBI had written 52 pages of serial numbers to track every bill.
Starting point is 00:28:37 The money drop turned out to be a convoluted series of steps which began with going to a specific place and finding a white cloth that was attached to a stick. There, John Jr. would find a tin can with further instructions. After he navigated the scavenger hunt, he would drop off the cash, leave, and then wait 30 hours for George's release. On Wednesday night, John Jr. packed a black suitcase full of ransom money in his car, and he started following the directions. The first white cloth and tin can were easy to find. At the second location, the white cloth was there, but the tin can was missing. John searched the area by matchlight, but he couldn't find a tin can with more instructions.
Starting point is 00:29:24 Eventually, exhausted and frustrated, he had no choice but to give up and return to the hotel. He dreaded what might happen next, and his only hope was that the kidnappers valued the money more than punishing his son. After a sleepless night at the Ambassador Hotel, John's hotel phone rang. It was William. He demanded to know why John, hadn't completed the route. John explained the missing tin can,
Starting point is 00:29:55 and after a tense exchange, William reluctantly gave him one last chance. Another note with fresh instructions would arrive by nightfall. That time, everything went as planned. The notes were securely placed, and John was able to follow the trail. The final note instructed him to park his car on a dirt road,
Starting point is 00:30:16 leave the engine running, and the ransom money inside, and then get out and walk toward Seattle. He should not approach anyone or speak to anyone. If he complied, George would be returned 30 hours later. John did exactly as instructed. As he walked down the dirt road away from his car, William and Margaret watched from a hiding spot.
Starting point is 00:30:40 When John Jr. disappeared into the darkness, William and Margaret raced to the car, snatched the ransom money and headed back to Spokane. Margaret and William arrived back at the Spokane Cottage, $200,000 richer, but with no exit strategy. They had told John they would release George 30 hours after the ransom drop, but they had no plan for George's release. Once again, they made it up as they went along. William, Margaret, and Harmon placed George in the trunk of their car and began driving toward Tacoma. At around 3 a.m., they decided to abandon George in the forest.
Starting point is 00:31:19 near the original pit where he had been held hostage. It was pitch black, cold, and raining, so they graciously gave the nine-year-old boy a blanket. As they turned to leave him alone in the forest, they said his father would come for him soon. But that was a lie. They made no arrangements with his father. George waited in the forest, soaked and shivering,
Starting point is 00:31:42 and nothing happened. Eventually, he decided to save himself. He walked through the woods for mile, until he stumbled upon a farmhouse at dawn on June 1, 1935. The family inside was stunned. George Warehouser had been headline news for days, and now there he was on their doorstep. They took him in, fed him, and drove him home to his parents in Tacoma.
Starting point is 00:32:09 George's return became a media frenzy, and news cameras caught the family's frantic and tearful reunion. The kidnapping had a happy ending, but the largest manhunt in Pacific Northwest history was just starting. The police and FBI wasted no time. On June 2nd, 1935, one day after George's release, the FBI found a lead. A train ticket bought with ransom money pointed them to Salt Lake City. A few days later, Margaret Whaley was caught using one of the marked bills at a store.
Starting point is 00:32:50 She was arrested and her husband Harmon was apprehended the same day. Both were in possession of ransom money, and they were charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. Harmon pleaded guilty, but he insisted Margaret had been forced to go along with the kidnapping after it had already happened. The claim was true, but it made little difference to the court. About three weeks after George had been released, Harmon received two consecutive 45-year sentences, and Margaret received two consecutive 20-year terms. William Mayhan was on the run for nearly a year, but in May 1936, marked ransom bills began surfacing in Los Angeles. A vigilant bank employee noticed suspicious bills and notified authorities
Starting point is 00:33:38 about the man who had used them. William was arrested at his home the next day. He had $37,000 in ransom money with him, and he revealed he had buried another $14,000 in Utah. William received two consecutive 60-year sentences for his role in the kidnapping. Ultimately, the FBI recovered a little more than $150,000 of the ransom money. William Mayhan served time in three maximum security facilities, including Alcatraz, before he passed away in 1992 at the age of 90. Margaret Whaley served 13 years of her sentence. When she was released, she divorced harm.
Starting point is 00:34:21 Harmon, moved to Ohio, and then back to Salt Lake City, where she eventually remarried. Harmon Whaley spent 28 years in prison before he was released in 1963 at the age of 52. Immediately upon his release, a curious thing happened. He went to work for George Warehouser. Remarkably, George experienced very little lasting trauma from his eight-day ordeal as a child. He said the events left a deeper scar on his parents. than they did on him. George eventually graduated from Yale University and then joined his family's timber business. Over the years, Harmon had sent letters of apology to George and George's parents.
Starting point is 00:35:05 Harmon expressed regret and asked for forgiveness. George recalled Harmon almost fondly and considered him a friend after their conversations during George's captivity. When Harmon was released, George hired him to work at a Warehouser facility in Oregon. Three years later, in 1966, George became CEO of the company, and he served in that capacity for the next 25 years. George Warehouser lived to the age of 95 and passed away in June 2022. Next time on Infamous America, two years after the George Warehouser kidnapping,
Starting point is 00:35:54 a pair of bumbling criminals, grab a 72-year-old retiree in Chicago. Illinois. What follows is a whirlwind of greed, betrayal, and murder, which prompts the FBI to nickname one of the kidnappers, the nation's cruelest criminal. And the Bureau has to set an undercover trap to finally catch the ringleader. That's next week on Infamous America. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week to receive new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website,
Starting point is 00:36:36 blackbarrelmedia.com. This episode was researched and written by Mandy Wimmer. Original music by Rob Villeer. I'm Chris Wimmer. Thanks for listening.

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