Morbid - Episode 597: The Kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle

Episode Date: September 5, 2024

In the early morning hours of December 17, 1968, two gunmen burst into the Atlanta motel room of Barbara Jane Mackle and her mother, Jane. After tying up and chloroforming Jane Mackle, the two kidnapped Barbara, forcing her into their car at gunpoint. Later that day, a family friend received a call at the Mackle home in Florida, instructing them to look in the northwest corner of the Mackle’s yard, where they would find a ransom note with details about how to ensure their daughter’s safe return.Once the note was unearthed, the Mackle’s learned their daughter had been placed inside a box and buried in the ground in a remote location. She has enough food, water, and air to survive for a few days, but if the family doesn’t act quickly, there’s a good chance Barbara will dieThe kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle was an elaborately planned, well-executed crime that quickly dominated local and national headlines, which was no small feat in a year of major social upheaval. By the 1960s, kidnapping for ransom was a familiar concept, but to be kidnapped and buried alive was a terrifying thought that shook Americans to their core and left everyone wondering, what kind of person could do such a thing?Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me The Axe Podcast for research and writing support!ReferencesAssociated Press. 1968. "Kidnapped college girl found safe in box underground." Los Angeles Times, December 21: 1.—. 1968. "Mackle kidnapping suspect capturted; $480,000 recovered." Los Angeles Times, December 22: 1.—. 1968. "Kidnapped girl tells of ordeal of 83 hours entombed in box." New York Times, December 29: 44.—. 1968. "Kidnapped girl, buried alive, is freed." New York Times, December 21: 1.Atlanta Constitution. 1968. "80-hour burial ends in rescue." Atlanta Constitution, December 21: 1.—. 1968. "Motel coed kidnapped here spurs nationwide alert for 2." Atlanta Constitution, December 18: 1.Foreman, Laura. 1968. "Campus silent about the girl." Atlanta Constitution, December 18: 1.Gary Steven Krist v. State of Georgia. 1970. 227 Ga. 85 (Ga. 1970) (Supreme Court of Georgia, December 3).Markowitz, Arnold. 1969. "Plea of Innocent entered for Krist." Miami Herald, March 8: 1.Miami Herald. 1969. "Krist collapses; is being force-fed." Miami Herald, April 25: 4.—. 1969. "'Superiority' goes to jail." Miami Herald, May 28: 3.—. 1969. "Who's villain of kidnap case?" Miami Herald, March 9: 19.Miller, Gene. 1969. "Krist gets life in prison avter jury grants mercy." Miami Herald, May 27: 1.—. 1969. "'Life imprisonment worse than death'." Miami Herald, May 27: 16.Miller, Gene, and Barbara Mackle. 1971. Eighty-Three Hours till Dawn. New York, NY: Doubleday.Murray, Frank. 1968. "Researcher and 2 sought in kidnap." Atlanta Constitution, December 20: 1.New York Times. 1968. "Ransom pickup inadvertently foiled by Miami police." New York Times, December 20.Raines, Howell. 1979. "Parole of a kidnapper angers Atlanta." New York Times, May 14: A14.Sosin, Milt. 1969. "FBI hunts Ruth's 'flight pal'." Miami News, March 6: 1.—. 1969. "Ruth: Everyone is against me." Miami News, March 7: 1.United Press International. 1968. "Gunman and 'boy' kidnapp 20-year-old coed, Florida millionaire's daughter." New York Times, December 18: 25.Vissar, Steve. 2006. "The strange odyssey of Gary Krist; From kidnapper to prisoner to doctor to alleged drug smuggler." Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 19.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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And I'm Elena. And this is Morbid. It sure is. I just read something on Instagram. It says, this la vida is getting a little too loca, if you ask me. And that's how I feel today. That's how I feel today. I feel like this la vida is hella fucking loca. This is, it is hella fucking loca. Bella, where you been loca? There you go. I feel today. I feel like this Lovita is hella fucking loca. This is, it is hella fucking loca.

Bella, where you been loca? There you go, I love it. It's my favorite thing ever. One of the best lines in cinematic history is for some reason. Spot the lie. Spot the fucking lie. Spot it. Taylor Lautner came out, I don't know if it was recently, I saw it recently, and said

how much he fucking hated that wig that they made him wear. That wig was nuts. Iconique. Nuts. Iconique. Bonkers. I mean, the Twilight is such, like, hello, welcome to Borbitt. Twilight is such a vibe.

This is the skin of a killer, Bella. This is the skin of a killer. That line. That line is one of the best lines in cinematic history. It's one of those things where it's like we can... People can hate on it as much as they want. You have to. Because you have to.

But damn, what a moment that shit is. And what a vibe that shit... Like, I'll watch that again. The vibe is just for the vibe. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And the weather's about to be like that too. That came out at such an important crucial time in my life. I was in middle school when those books came out.

So, oh, you bet your bottom motherfucking dollar I was trying to do the Bella aesthetic. Like I was like, oh, new personality unlocked. That's me. I'm so different. I'm so different. I'm so different. I'm going to live with my dad in forks. See it was my like looking at it.

I was like, oh, this is everything I ever wanted as I was growing up was to meet a vampire. Yeah. To fall in love with. And have him love you. Like that's literally all I wanted. John's really pale. I never, he is. And he's from Norway.

There you go. That's giving vampire. There's definitely vampires there I bet. Drew's Polish. I don't know if that's giving vampire. Polish vampires. You never know. I don't know. It's giving pierogies. It's giving pierogies. It's giving pierogies and I do love those. So I think, yeah, I found a vampire-esque man. And I found pierogies. So let's fucking go girls. I was just thinking about that we, so we found that the Hollywood Reporter did like a podcasting thing. Yeah, it was cool.

And we were part of it and it was really fun. Thank you for featuring us, Hollywood Reporter. And in it, we were all these other amazing podcasters that I was like, I'm sorry, what are we doing in there? I know, right? But like Bill Simmons is one of those podcasters. He's like been around for literally ever. He's hilarious.

And John loves him, like has loved him forever. And one of the things he said was a podcasting no-no. One of his things was like bullshit banter. Oh no. Do you think he hates us? And I was like, I get it. Cause he does like serious interviews and like sports shit. So like, I understand.

Yeah. But I was like, this is all I could think of as we started this was like, Bill, I'm sorry. But sometimes I know some of you do not come from the bullshit banter that's not banter. That's not for you. Totally get it. But I think a vast majority of our audience actually loves bullshit banter.

You're here with us. Cause they're us. We try to be a little more mindful of how, how much we sprinkle it in at this point. Cause you know, like we've grown, we've evolved. And also that was like not a knock at Bill Simmons. Cause I love Bill Simmons. I just thought it was hilarious.

No, that is funny. And I loved how honest he was in his answer. It was hilarious. You guys actually should go read that article. Cause his answers were fucking hilarious. His are really funny. Theo Von's are really funny. Georgia and Karen were in there. They really funny. Theo Vons are really funny. Georgia and Karen were in there.

They were funny. Everyone had differing opinions on 1.5 speed listening to podcasts, which was funny. I think we forgot to answer that question. I think we did too. I think I also was just like, no, never. And I felt weird saying no, never. I just get very stressed out with it. It's too fast for me.

I get overstimulated very easily. I talk fast enough for my own self. Yeah. Putting me on 1.5. Can you fucking imagine? No. People probably do do that. Can you even hear? Did that create a time warp? It did. What's new in your personal world? So really quick, just before we get into this, which is it's going to be a two parter because it's a very long, but very interesting case. Very interesting. I just wanted to mention that I'm going on like a mini book tour. With me.

With Ash. I get to go. I'm going on a mini book tour. And there's a few dates. I think there's really only two that are not sold out, which like that's really wild There's one on September 18th at 6 p.m. In New York at the Union Square Barnes & Noble You can get if you go on the Barnes & Noble site and type in events and like go to that date in that location You can get tickets. I think there's a bunch of tickets left. I'm not positive, but that's the last update I got.

I just have to say it's really fucking cool. I had a real moment last night where I was like, bitch, that's my sister. Because Sarah Jessica Parker was just at that Barnes and Noble and I saw that and I said, and my sister got invited too. So just wanted to say that. Thank you for that. You betcha. And I did an event for Butcher and the Wren there and they were amazing.

It was fun. And I loved doing that event. Everybody went was amazing. It was just like a really fun experience. Yeah, it was cool. So go check and see if there's tickets left for that one. And then I think there's like only a few tickets left in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in the book, in Berkshires at the book.

At the book loft, which is a really cool bookstore. It's cool. Um, and yeah, so that's going to be fun. And you know, I'll keep updating you on any future book events. Um, oh, and there is a sweepstakes that we're doing that is a really fun one. This is cool. Um, we're, so we're doing a sweepstakes where you can enter and you can, you enter by just uploading your pre-order receipt for the butcher game. And you can, uh,

it's right in my Instagram bio or in, you know, uh, you can go to the butcher game.com, upload your pre-order receipt for the butcher game, and you can be entered to win like an, stay at the red lion and in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. One of the coolest fucking inns ever. It's iconic and it's beautiful. It's like so historic. My Bravo fans, that's where Dorinda used to work. Yes, exactly.

And it's so much fun. And then a grand prize winner is going to get, so the grand prize winner is going to get the two nights stay at the Red Lion Inn, and that's September 27th and 28th. And they're gonna get like all this other fun stuff to it. And this person is gonna get tickets to a murder mystery dinner on September 28th. And that's gonna be with me, with Ash being there. I can't fucking wait.

Mikey's gonna be there. I literally can't wait. And it's gonna be there. I literally can't wait. And it's gonna be a murder mystery dinner. So it's gonna be fucking fun and we're all gonna hang out and we're gonna have a vibey time. So enter with your fucking pre-order receipt at thebutchergame.com. Pre-order the Butcher Game. Put your receipt in there.

It's gonna be like that episode when they're in the berserk shears and they do the murder mystery party at Bluestone Manor. Yes. I've never been to a murder mystery dinner. It's a blast. John and I went last year to one and it was so much fun. And it's so the grand prize winner gets the stay at the Red Lion Inn and a ticket to the dinner.

And then 10 winners are gonna get tickets to the murder mystery dinner. Oh my God. You guys have like enter to win. And even if you don't win, I'm going to be so sad for you, but go to the fucking red lion and it's the best. And they have a really cute little shop there. Yeah, they do.

I love that little shop. And it's just a cool in. Like you're really going to love it. I think they're going to be contacting the winners by September 6th. So yeah, this is close. So make sure you get in there. Get in there. Get in there. If you want to enter to win. It'll be a fun time. And pre-order the butcher game. If you haven't already yet, go to the butcher game.com. You can pre-order it anywhere. It really helps.

It's really awesome. I'll be really grateful. And I promise you, you're going to love it. I really love it. I really love it. I read it already Yeah, I'm very excited about an arc. LOL. I got an arc. That made me feel cool. But yeah, it's coming out on September 17th So pre-order now and you might get it a day before you never know so go do it and now that we have Annoyed you or made you happy or made you feel neutral about what we have just talked about. Let's get into the kidnapping of Barbara Jane Mackle. Oh, now Barbara Jane Mackle is not a child, just so you know what you're getting into here, which doesn't make it better. I'm just

saying it's a different kind of kidnapping, a little bit of a young adult napping. So let's just get right into it because this is a windy, twisty, wild tale. And it takes place in the 60s. Ooh, I love the 60s. So in the weeks leading up to Christmas break in 1967, Emory University student Barbara Jane Mackel, so she's a young college student, she was looking really forward to the Christmas break.

She was just psyched to be getting the last of her exams for the semester done. And then she was going to head home to Miami to visit her family. Now unfortunately, when her father, Robert Mackle, talked to his daughter on December 14th, he was pretty disappointed because he found out that she had a cold that had evolved into the flu and she was sounding and feeling awful. Oh, she felt like shit. That's the worst. Yeah. So Jane Mackle, who is Barbara's mother later recalled, Robert had talked to Barbara that

Thursday and he was about ready to make her come home. She couldn't get into the infirmary at Emory because it was full, but Barbara wanted to stick it out. And so she wanted to stick it out. And so she wanted to stick it out because if she was going to leave early, she would have to reschedule one or more of her exams. And she was just determined to finish them all before the holiday break and not have to worry. Yeah. You don't want that looming over your head your whole holiday break. That would

suck. No, because then sometimes you over study and then you kind of like lose it. You know what I mean? You go too far. Literally could never be me, but I've heard that does happen. Yeah. If you over study, like you get obsessive about it. No, I'm kidding. I have no doubt. So she couldn't even get into the infirmary at school though, because it was flu season. Everybody's got the flu. Everyone's got a cold. You're probably better off not going into the infirmary.

I know, it's true. So eventually Robert and Jane Mackle reached a compromise with Barbara. And this compromise that was that sure you can stay to finish your exams because she was very determined. But her mother, Jane said, I'm coming to Atlanta and I'm going to take care of you. Oh, that's really sweet. So the next morning, Jane boarded the first available nonstop flight from Miami and was in Atlanta within a couple hours. She checked into the roadway in with her daughter a little before noon and she said, you're

going to stay with me here and I'm going to take care of you and then you can go take your exams. And Jane said, I took her temperature right away and she still had 101 degree fever. But despite her really rough flu symptoms, she was determined as ever to be studying through the weekend and doing well on those exams. I got you must have been exhausted. Yeah. Now later that afternoon, Barbara drove

to the Rich building at Emory School of Business and sat down to start going for it. But the instructor was like, you look like shit. Like you look so sick. Yeah. And like could tell that she was feeling awful. And he was like, you gotta go to the infirmary. You can't sit in this class.

Yeah, you're gonna like get everybody everybody else. So you're probably not going to do that great on your exams anyway, because you're so out of it. Yeah. So she went to the infirmary. She had to wait for over an hour only to be sent home and told to rest. Oh my God. I'd be so pissed. Now Barbara woke the next day feeling a little bit better, but she was determined to take her history exam. And this time she said she was going to go in there and just act totally fine. She wasn't going to say anything to her history instructor about her temperature, how she was feeling. She put a little concealer on the under eye. She would blush on the cheeks and went for

it. Now, meanwhile, back at the motel, the phone in Jane's room rang and she answered it. And she heard an unfamiliar man's voice. And this man said, I have a registered letter for Barbara Mackle. And earlier in the week, Barbara had complained to her mother that she let a guy borrow her class notes and he never returned them. Oh, fuck that guy.

So Jane assumed that the boy had maybe mailed the bad notes back to like just to the motel. Yeah. But apparently it didn't occur to her that like very few people knew that they were staying at the motel. Was gonna ask that. Especially like casual acquaintances wouldn't have known.

Right. But regardless, when Jane told Barbara someone had returned the notes, she told her mother it was too late to get them that night and that the letter should just be brought to the dorm tomorrow. Okay. So Jane told the caller that,

thank the man hung up, nothing else happened. The next day, December 16th, Barbara's best friend, Stuart Woodward, spent most of the afternoon with her at the motel, helping her study for the one remaining exam she had. And after leaving the motel for a bit, Stuart went by Barbara's dorm room to see if the class notes were there, because he's like a best friend. He was going to go pick them up for her. That's really sweet.

Because she needed those notes. And when he got there, he saw that, yes, the red notebook was sitting on her desk. So he was like, oh, good. But there was no sign that they had ever gone through the mail. So he was like, that's a little weird. But Stuart returned to the roadway with the notes and spent the rest of the evening studying again

with Barbara and didn't leave until like 10 p.m. And as he walked out the door, he jokingly said, well, don't talk to any strange men and then close the door behind him. Because I think they had brought up like that this guy had called and he was like, well, don't talk to any more strange men on the phone. Yeah, just joking. Now, after a long day of studying, Barbara was exhausted because she's still sick. Yeah. Still not feeling well by the time Stuart left. So she just was like, I'm going to sleep. And Jane Mackle was also exhausted. So she was like, you know what, let's go to sleep.

But Jane was awoken a few hours later because she heard Barbara, her breathing was sounding very congested, like she was sick breathing. And so she asked Barbara, are you awake? And Barbara said, yes, I can't sleep. My head is so stopped up. And Jane got up and walked to the motel window

to look out over the parking lot and it was just dark. And then she looked down to her watch and saw it was only 3 a.m. So she was like way too early to get up for the day. So she went back to bed and she said she could hear Barbara's like congested breathing, but there was really nothing she could think to do. So they did fall back to sleep.

Jane had just started to drift in and out of sleep when she was startled by a knock at the motel room door in the middle of the night. What? So she calls out and is like, who the fuck is there? So she calls out and is like, who the fuck is there? But it was difficult to hear, but there was a man on the other side. And Jane said, I thought he said it, he was a detective, maybe a policeman. I'm not sure.

And the man at the door explained there's a young boy and a white Ford and he's been in an accident. He's in the hospital and he's asking for you. What? And it was late and she had just been in and out of sleep. So it didn't occur to her that the policemen didn't seem to know the accident victim's name. Just a young boy or just didn't relate to her. So she said, I immediately thought of Stuart Woodward. Oh, he had a white car. So she said, is his name Stuart through the door? And the man said, yes, it is. Now, Jane parted the curtain by the door a little and looked out.

And she said she saw a man and could see that he was white, clean shaven, and he was wearing a police officer's hat with a badge on it. So she was like, all right, well, this seems legit. So she started unhooking the chain that had been holding the door closed. But as she lifted up the chain, the man bashed his way with his shoulder into the room, literally ripping the stripping away from the frame. Oh my God. He did it so hard. Knocked Jane to the floor.

And another figure appeared from behind him who was small and described as small and slender. Jane said the second intruder looked like they were maybe like a 12 or 13 year old, they were so small. What? And their face was covered by a black ski mask. Oh God, I hate that. Yeah, and Jane thought it was like a young boy, essentially.

And the smaller intruder started tying Jane's hands and ankles. And so Jane looked over at the policeman who was still wearing the cap, the policeman quote unquote, and she said he was chunky and he had a round face, a moon face, he later said. And she said, and she said, he spoke well and spoke softly. He didn't look like a hoodlum or anything like that. I love the sixts of it all. Now at first, Jane thought the two intruders came in to rob them.

And so she immediately started saying, take anything you want in this room, but please do not hurt my daughter or me. And seconds later, she said, as she's saying that she feels a damp rag being pressed over her face and she started getting blurred and like it was covering her eyes. Hashtag chloroform. So she said it was either chloroform or ether, but I couldn't, and she said, I could hear him saying, give her more, give her more.

Oh my God. So assuming that they were gonna keep pouring this substance, whatever it was onto the rag and keep pressing it to her face until she passed out, she just pretended to fall unconscious. Fucking smart. Yeah, she really is like, that was some like queen shit. Cause they could have killed her.

Yeah, absolutely. So she's, she never lost consciousness. Wow. She just faked it. But she said the rag on her face did prevent her from seeing much of what was happening. And she was like a little woozy from it. So she said- Close her eyes anyway to pretend she's passed out. So she said, I looked up and I saw just a flickering of Barbara's nightgown going out

the door between them. And after that, her daughter and the intruders were just gone and the room was just deathly quiet and she was just laying there. So terrified and unable to do anything, she rolled over and started making her way towards the phone, which was knocked on the floor. She couldn't dial because her hands were behind her back. Oh, I didn't even think of that. So she started yelling into the receiver, but she's like, I didn't dial.

So it didn't even go to the overnight clerk. I was like, she was hoping it would just connect maybe somehow, but it didn't. So she struggled to get to her feet and hopped towards the little kitchenette with a pair of scissors on the counter. And with her hands still being bound, she got the scissors into her hands, but then dropped them and couldn't hold onto them or get them to work in any way. So she hopped towards the door and made her way out into the parking lot and began screaming for help.

Wow. And she said, I got absolutely no response. I couldn't believe that no one heard. I know they heard. Oh. And if anyone did hear her cries for help, no one moved to help her. And none of the lights went on. Nothing.

It's so shitty because that's such a catch 22. Like when you're in that position, you're like, why is nobody helping? But then hearing that you're like, I'm not going out there, but you should call the police. Your first thought should not be go out there because you don't know what you're going out by no means go out there. Call the police. Yeah. Call the front desks.

Call someone. Call anybody. Literally, like just call someone and say, I did it. I did what I needed to do, but don't just ignore it. Yeah, no, that's silly. So unsure what to do or where to go. She's still tied up here. Oh my God.

Jane spotted her car in the parking lot and started going towards it. She fell twice, cutting and bruising herself as she hit the ground with her hands tied behind her back. She did manage to get into the front seat of her car and she placed her chin on the steering wheel and used her head to press the horn as hard as she could. Wow. And just held it down. Genius.

It took about a full minute before anyone responded, but soon a young woman in the room next to Jane and Barbara, which I was like, you didn't hear anything. When he slammed, he literally broke down the door. He didn't call anyone. What the fuck? That's crazy. And also this lady called the front desk and said, another crackpot is on the loose.

Nice. Like, oh, okay. You heard all that. Real nice. You think maybe something's awry? Yeah, probably. The night clerk, Walter Perkins, who shame upon him, uh-oh, he stepped out into the lot, looked over

and finally spotted what was happening. And he stepped out into the lot, looked over, and finally spotted what was happening. And he just said, hey lady, shut up. You'll wake up the guests. So Jane finally lifts her head off the steering wheel and is like, hey asshole, help me, I'm tied up. Right. And the man walks closer

and could see a piece of adhesive tape, like hanging from her mouth. And he was just like, what the fuck? And Jane said, they robbed me and took my daughter. And he just stared at her. And he said, I thought it was some sort of mother daughter disturbance. What?

Do you see that a lot? They robbed me and took my daughter? Do you see that looking like this a lot? So he was like, so Jane was like, call the police. That's what I need you to do. Perkins was completely unmoved by this scene. And she said later, Jane said later, he just stood there and fussed at me.

He didn't do a thing. Are you fucking kidding me? Walter Perkins, get it fucking together. Like what? Get it together. He didn't call the police at all? Didn't call, he was literally like, I'm just staring at her. This is annoying.

Like, and you said he's the night watchman? No, later, yeah, he was like the night, the person at the front desk. Oh, good. And later, Walter Perkins, Walter Perkins would claim that he didn't want to alarm any of the other guests. So he was trying to be discreet. But Jane Mackle said he was incredibly infuriating. Yeah. And he didn't give a shit.

I'm also like, I think the other guest should already be alarmed because, um, one of these doors has broken off the hinges. A woman's been beeping her horn and screaming for help. And she was tied up. Yeah. Well, we should probably involve the police here. So she's saying, Hey, call the police. And he's like, what?

And she stands up and it's like, hey, see how my hands are tied behind my back and my ankles, by the way, her ankles are still tied. She hopped across the parking lot. She stands up with her ankles tied and her hands tied behind her back. She's covered in cuts and bruises, has tape on her mouth. A mother-daughter disturbance. And she's like, Hey, can you call the police? And then she also goes, Hey, also, can you get some fucking scissors and uncut like, un fucking time?

Do I need to spell everything out right now? So he did, but he ended up cutting her hands only. And she was like, my ankles are also cut and he was like, can't help you there. What? He was like, this is weird. I. And he was like, can't help you there. What? He was like, this is weird. I don't want to do it. Why? He was so ineffective that Jane had to hop back

to her own room where she was able to cut the bindings around her own ankles. What is happening? Walter Perkins. What is happening here? So then she called the county police on her own because Walter Perkins did not call the police. I hope less people stayed at that motel after this.

You know what Walter Perkins did? He just walked back to the counter in the front desk and sat behind it where he started. He just sat back at the front desk, didn't call anyone. Just like that was weird. I can't understand. Shame on your name. I just can't understand why the... What? I don't call anyone. Just like that was weird. I can't understand. Shame on your name. I just can't understand why the... What? I don't understand him. So when she saw, when Jane saw the intruders leaving with her daughter Barbara, she immediately imagined that they had robbed her before they had left.

And now they were probably planning to sexually assault or kill Barbara. That's all she could think of. Of course. But when she entered the room after getting herself free, she realized her purse was still on the table and hadn't been touched. And in fact, everything was exactly as it had been before they were attacked.

The only thing missing was Barbara. And she said, when I realized they hadn't robbed us, I knew they were after Barbara. Which must've been horrific. Now DeKalb County officers, Walter Bayer and SL Baumgrass were the first one to, were first to arrive at the roadway. They found Jane Mackle waiting outside the door of her room. And when the call came in on the radio for a signal 77, both of them recognized that

as a kidnapping code and it was uncommon in DeKalb County. So they rushed to the motel. They were very worried. Within minutes of placing the call, they were already there. Like it was quick. Officer Bayer recalled she was terribly upset and terribly disturbed. And he said it was difficult to understand what Jane was actually trying to tell them, but they just knew that she had reported a kidnapping.

And Bayer said, I thought it was some sort of sexual abduction. After all, in the moment, neither officer knew Jane or Barbara Mackle and their instincts told them why would a man and a teenage boy kidnap a young woman? Right. There's really only one reason and it's horrible that they could think of. So like Walter Perkins though, the roadway, you know, the roadway night clerk, Jane was immediately frustrated with these responding officers as well. Another shitty Walter.

They weren't really taking her seriously. She said, I tried to tell them Barbara was a coed at Emory and a very nice girl. And one of the policemen said very sarcastically, a coed at Emory and a nice girl, as if those two things could not exist together. That's good. Yeah. That's fantastic. Just, you know, somebody trying to further their education.

All of these men in this so far are fucking pigs. What the fuck? Like this woman is literally like I was just tied up in chloroform. And my daughter was ripped out of her bed in front of me. And I don't know where she is by a man and a young boy, it seems. And they're like, and she's like, and she goes to Emory and she's a nice girl. And their response is like, your daughter is probably a whore. Emory. Like, what?

What the actual fuck? You're a pig. Like, so far, the men in this are pigs except for Stewart. Yeah. Very much so. Jane's dad. Like that's it. Yeah. But by that point, Jane had called Stewart Woodward, the best friend, and he had arrived at the motel. He came running in the middle of the night. Since the Mackles were from Miami, Jane didn't know anyone in the area who she could call for help in that moment moment, she, so she called Stuart and asked him to sit with her while she waited for her husband to arrive because Jane's father, Robert was coming right away. Yeah. But he's coming from Miami. Now Stuart wasn't there when all this happened, but he tried to help answer

the officer's questions for Jane to like help through, like get it out from her. Yeah. You know, who knows if they trusted his answers any more than hers, but the officers were eyeing Stewart a little bit pretty suspiciously. And Jane kept saying, he's just a friend, but they listed him as Barbara's boyfriend. And she was like, he's just, and he was like, I'm just her like really good friend. They said girls and guys can't just be friends. Stewart explained that the previous day he had actually noticed a white male driving a late model blue car hanging around the Emory campus

and staring at him. Oh. And he said, it was just a few hours before Barbara was taken. That's spooky. But he said when he approached the man to find out what the fuck he wanted, they sped away. Other than that piece of information, they really didn't have anything else.

That's weird. Yeah, so the two responding officers took Jane's statement and wrote it out more or less as she described it to them. But again, very little evidence at the scene. And a short time later, plain clothes detectives arrived at the motel, but it didn't really help at all either. There was nothing there. To Detective Mac Dover, Jane appeared, what he said appeared mentally

ill and could have passed for drunk. Well, her daughter was just ripped out of her fucking bed at 3am. So this detective described her as when I first saw her, she appeared looped. Looped like loopy. She yeah, like looped like loopy. She had just been chloroformed. Is anyone taking that into consideration? She appears drunk. She might have just huffed ether. So what is wrong with these people? There's a very real possibility that she is fucked up, not of her own volition. Like, are you... Is everyone all right? It feels like they're like judging her because she's out of motel.

Yeah. And it's like, oh, I'm sorry that she came here to take care of her sick child. Yeah. Like what the fuck? But it's like they're not taking her seriously at all. No. Now before long, however, though, he realized Jane was panicked and appeared to be in pain from the assault and also under the influence of whatever the fuck they had just suffocated her with with a rag.

Still both Jane and Stuart felt that the newly arrived detectives were just as suspicious of their story as the initial officers were. And it's like they all were treating them like they did something wrong. And that was remained the case until Robert Mackle arrived from Miami a few years, hours later. That's good. As soon as the man appears, we're good. It's very sixties.

Now, since the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932, kidnapping had been a federal crime in the United States, which would make it the jurisdiction of the FBI. Okay. Also, we probably need them instead. Probably do. Probably do. In addition to being an incredibly wealthy real estate developer in Florida, Robert Mackle also moved in some pretty powerful political circles.

Oh. Yeah. And had made, cause I know you were probably wondering like, what the fuck is going on here? This is a very well-known, like a powerful family. Okay. He had also made a number of valuable contacts and close relationships through this,

including a friendship with FBI director, J Edgar Hoover. Shut the fuck up. Holy shit. Robert Mackle was not fucking around. I was surprised I haven't heard of this. So when he learned of what had happened here that night, Robert, the father, immediately placed a call to Hoover's office directly and the case was given the highest priority, taking it completely out of the hands of the local police right away. Can you imagine those fuckwads when he stepped on the scene and was like, yeah, get the fuck out. I'm going to call J. Edgar Hoover.

Yeah. Bye. Pieces of shit. Also, I would have the if I had connections, the way that I would get them ripped off the fucking force immediately. Like what the fuck are you doing? So we've got immediately ripped right out of the hands of those local asshole police officers.

Peace out, poop heads. It was just placed delicately into the hands of the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency. Just like, excuse me, I'll take that. Now, as he drove north towards Atlanta, Robert said he just was fixated on his daughter and what she was going through, what could be happening at this moment. He said, I kept thinking, I'll wake up.

This has to be a nightmare. And he said he just couldn't stop thinking about it. And he said, this was before the idea that this could be a kidnap for ransom. He just was thinking she was kidnapped to do awful shit to her and kill her. And although it had become far less common, the whole kidnapping for ransom thing than it had been in the past, they still did happen, especially for like ransom, other material or political gains. They happened and given his wealth and social status and like how he was in political socials

and circles. I don't know why I said socials. He was a far more likely candidate for that. So sounds like it. While Robert made his way to be with his wife in Georgia, several family members and friends waited for any word at the Mackel House. They all came to help back in Miami.

And that included Robert's business partner, William O'Dowd Jr. O'Dowd had been posted by the phone just consistently. He would not leave, which I was like, what a good business partner. That's a really good friend. As soon as Robert left, he just took his place. And he was intent on keeping the line clear in case any calls came in regarding Barbara. And a little after 9 a.m., the phone rang and O'Dowd answered.

And he said he heard a man's voice asking for Robert Mackle. reading Barbara and a little after 9 a.m. the phone rang and no doubt answered and he said, he heard a man's voice asking for Robert Mackle and he said he's on his way to Atlanta and there was a long pause and then the man on the other end said, well, tell him to look under a palm tree in the Northeast corner of the house under a rock about six inches down. Okay. So to O'Dowd, this was very confusing and strange because he didn't know any of the details of what was happening.

He just knew something bad happened. They didn't know where Barbara was and he had to leave. So he just like came with very little information. It was just like, I'm here. I'll just be here for whatever. And they're telling him to go look under this palm tree? They said, tell Robert to do that. So he-

It's like, like I said, he's going to Atlanta. Yeah, he's like, he's not there. So he tried to ask follow-up questions because he was like, what the fuck? And the man on the other end just said, that's all, like Miranda Priestly. That's all. And then hung up. So to William O'Dowd, the caller on the other end of the line, he said sounded Latino. He said not Spanish necessarily, but possibly from a country

or maybe just a home that spoke native Spanish. But he said he also thought it could have been a Canadian caller trying to destabilize their voice with an accent. Okay, I wonder what made him think that. He said it was a very like muddled and it kept falling in and out of like an accent. So he didn't know if it was real, not real, kind of had a Canadian vibe to it.

It was giving Dorit Kemp sleep. Yeah. He couldn't figure out what was happening then. But whatever it was, he said he didn't recognize it and it didn't give any other identifying information. So he was like, that's really all I got. Although the prospect of digging for clues in the yard seemed kind of crazy to him, a little preposterous.

Might as well. Oh, Doud cared about this family. He cared about Barbara. He cared about his business partner, Robert. He cared about Jane. So his instinct was to just rush outside and start digging where that person said, because he's like, I just want to help. I feel like that's what I would do.

But Robert's brother, Elliot, said we should wait for the FBI. They're on their way to the house. Let's not touch anything. Like, they're almost here. Like let's just wait. Yeah, you don't want to like fuck with evidence. So when he arrived at the house, Agent Joseph St. Pierre listened to a down story about the mysterious caller with the maybe Spanish accent in the clue supposedly buried in the yard.

St. Pierre called his partner, Agent Cass, who was with Robert and Jane in Atlanta. And Cass confirmed for the couple that this did appear to be a genuine kidnapping and then asked whether they had any palm trees in their yard at home. So Robert was like, well, yeah, we have a cluster of Phoenix palms in the Northeast corner of the house. Yeah, like we live in Miami. Exactly where they said. Uh-huh.

So they relayed that back to Agent St. Pierre in Miami. With some help from the Mackel's gardener, Walter Powell, Agent St. Pierre located what he believed to be a large piece of coral about the size of a man's fist beneath the Phoenix palms. Okay. And he instructed Walter to begin digging very carefully. He was like, I think we're coming upon something. So he didn't want to destroy anything.

But in the second shovel of dirt, St. Pierre spotted what appeared to be a rolled up piece of paper protruding from a black rubber stopper. And when he carefully removed this from the dirt, it appeared to be a broken laboratory beaker. And it was smashed when the shovel went from the dirt, it appeared to be a broken laboratory beaker. And it was smashed when the shovel went into the dirt. So they were like, fuck. And it appeared that whoever had placed this note in the bottle had trimmed the rubber stopper to like get the note in the bottle.

And it was rolled very tightly. So they're finding laboratory equipment buried in the yard, in the yard of a Miami real estate developer. Pretty strange. But St. Pierre was far more concerned that there was a note here. And he was like, this is a little scary. So the agent carefully carried the whole thing back to the house and asked the housekeeper to get him some tweezers because he didn't want to touch the note. So she did that. And once they pulled it out of the bottle and unfurled it, they realized that this was very real and very fucking scary and very dark.

A ransom note? So the note said, Robert Mackle, sir, your daughter has been kidnapped by us and we now hold her for ransom. She's quite safe if somewhat uncomfortable. We offer no proof of our possession of her at this time. It will arrive by mail in a few days. Barbara is presently alive inside a small capsule buried in a remote piece of soil. What the fuck? She has enough food and water and air to last seven days. At the end of the seven days, the life-supporting batteries will be discharged and her air supply will be cut off. The box is waterproof and very strong fiberglass reinforced plywood. She has little chance of escaping. The box

is an unusual and lonely place. She has no chance of being accidentally stumbled upon. What in the actual fuck? This young woman is in a fiberglass and plywood coffin in the middle of the forest somewhere. Buried in the ground. The fuck? The three page note, which is a very long note, was very detailed and it went on to demand $500,000, which in 2024 is $4.5 million. Oh my God. And they demanded it in recently issued $20 bills and no more than 10

notes may have consecutive serial numbers. The kidnappers also claimed each bill would undergo, quote, a minimum of eight hours of intense examination before they revealed where Barbara was. They also noted that the money should occupy, quote, no more than 4,000 cubic inches and therefore should be delivered in a standard suitcase that is 31 and a half inches long by 18.75 inches high by 6.75 inches high by 6.25 inches deep. That's scary because these people know what the fuck they're doing,

like down to every last centimeter. That's horrifying. Once the Mackles were ready to make the exchange, they were instructed to place an ad in the personal section of all the Miami newspapers that read, quote, loved one, please come home. We will pay all expenses and meet you anywhere at any time. Your family. Once the ad appeared in all the papers, the

kidnappers would call to tell them further instructions. I have chills. I'm so I'm absolutely shook of shit that they have to do right now under such duress. Absolutely perfectly. Are their daughters going to die in a box in the middle of the fucking forest? It's going to die of suffocation being buried alive. Yeah. So this whole thing clearly confirmed that Barbara had been kidnapped for ransom. It also showed them, like you said, these kidnappers are fucking brilliant, well organized

and very serious. It doesn't sound like this is the first time they've done something like this. And the details contained in the note implied that they had thought through several aspects of this crime. It was not quickly done down to the dimensions necessary for a suitcase to hold $500,000. And finally, the presence of the note at the Mackel house suggested that this was not impulsive at all. In order, you know, the note had to be found, the note was gonna be found right after Barbara was kidnapped.

So they either had to have somebody stationed there who then snuck onto the property once the deed had been done and buried it, or they had buried it in advance, like days before. That's what I was wondering. And the news of the kidnapped millionaire's daughter clearly broke the following day and made headlines across the country. But despite their best efforts, reporters got very little information from investigators

because remember they're tight with the family and they had like no access to the family. Well, that's good because they could have fucked everything up. An FBI agent said in response to reporters requests for a statement from the family, they just need a little peace and quiet. We're getting them away from the motel. Good. Now, Barbara's friends and classmates were also protective of the family in the situation. That's great.

When they couldn't get any information from the FBI or the family, a lot of reporters did, you know, what reporters do and they all went to Emory University campus and they searched for leads. Mostly they came up empty. Good. One student told a reporter from the Atlantic constitution, I'm not going to tell you anything. Just to fuck off vibes. And Barbara's roommate, Ramsey Owens was also like, no, I'm telling you shit. Ramsey Owens.

Love that. They said, I've talked to the FBI and I feel like anything that can be, that can help has been said and done. I haven't been at Emory since Saturday and I don't know anything up to the minute. Good. So they were just like, leave us alone. The FBI's got it. Nobody's yapping.

Those who were willing to talk to the press avoided specific questions about the case and instead just talked about what a great person Barbara was, that she was very warm, very friendly, and they would see her again. That's it. They would not talk about the case. They wouldn't talk about that family other than to say, we love that family. Good. So it sounds like this family also has a lot of people who really cared for them.

Yeah. While FBI agents and government officials around the country were scrambling to find Barbara Mackle, she lay very still inside a coffin shaped box buried somewhere in the remote forests of Georgia. So she really was in a fucking box. Now to give you all a little bit of ease, Barbara lives. Okay. I needed to know that. I needed you to tell me that.

And the reason I'm telling you this ahead of time is one to give you that, but also to give you her thoughts while she was here in this box, because she was open about what she was going through. So I think it's important. She said, she thought to herself, I'm being left here to die. And she said, this is it, this is the end.

And what the vessels had put her in, the one that was referenced in the ransom letter was little more than a reinforced plywood box with two pipes leading out of the lid, presumably to the surface above. She had no idea where she was. She didn't know how deeply she had been buried. In fact, she only knew what her kidnappers had told her. She had food and water and air for seven days. And if her father paid the ransom, she would be set free. And she said the kidnappers had left a small amount of food within her reach, which I was like, you're

laying down though and you have to eat. Yeah. And she was able to access the water bottle at the bottom of the box through a long straw. Wow. And later after she had been rescued, Barbara would learn her captors had drugged her water to make her sluggish and docile. Which is really fucked up. And the only other things in the box were an exhaust fan supplying her air at a single light. And the electrical supply to both the light and the fan were connected, so when one was on, the other one would go off. This is like unfathomable. It's like saw comes up with this. It literally feels like saw.

And she's laying there, fucking panicking. And she said at first, like after, pretty much right away, she said, I had really dark thoughts. And I was just like, I can't do this. I mean, yeah. And she said, instead of waiting a week for this to happen, why should I, why not just turn off the fan? Like she's like, should I just turn off the fan

and let it happen? Why should I go through this for a week? Cause also you're probably sitting there wondering, are they actually telling me the truth? Is like, are they going after my dad for ransom or are they just fucking with him? And are they going to get the ransom then just leave me here?

Like, are they just going to do it for the hell of it? But she wasn't a defeatist. And she was like, she's a strong, strong lady. So she was like, I just could not allow myself to give up in that moment. Even though like, I can't fathom that. I can't fathom that. She said, as I lay there, I began to think about the kidnappers. I kept thinking of him, not her.

Look, I said, if he was going to let me die, he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble. If he wanted me to die, he would have just killed me. Right? Yeah. And remember, she killed me, right? Yeah, and Remember she just said I kept thinking of him not her so was the little one a girl maybe So what she's thinking is true too Like if her kidnappers had gone to such incredible lengths to arrange this super elaborate crime It did stand to reason that they like maybe had intentions of returning her once they got the money. Like there's always that chance obviously that they're just going

to run away into the wild blue yonder after they get their money. Yeah, of course. But like they did go through, because my, like I think her thought finally went to like, they would have just buried me with no air and nothing and just been like, yep, she's under there with no air. Like they didn't give any evidence to the family that she was alive. So they didn't have to give her all this. They didn't plan on releasing her after a week.

You know, they at least had intentions of trying. That's the, I mean, the long straw, the food, the light. Like, yeah, it seems like that's a lot. And it's like, but then you got but then I'm sure she's going dark and sitting there thinking, but are they just torturing me for a week? Yeah. And letting me think that,

and making me go through this for a week before I die. Right. Like this is torture. My God, I can't imagine. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] So, Barbara later told a reporter, I can't remember the exact sequence of things. I can't remember what I was thinking at exact times. I know I started singing after counting. I knew I had turned off the light.

I didn't want to waste the battery. And she said she did everything she could to take her mind off these fucking awful circumstances and any of the awful potential outcomes that she couldn't stop running through her head. Anything could go wrong at this point. So she said, she sang Christmas carols, she counted. Cause remember it's Christmas break coming up. I forgot that.

She sang Christmas carols, she counted, she talked to herself endlessly, and she thought about her family and friends, she said. And she said, and then it happened. And she said, you know how a light bulb flickers just before it burns out? That's what it did. I had the light out and I reached up to turn it on, it flickered and it just went out. Oh, so now she's just in total darkness. Clunged into complete and utter darkness.

And she said, that's when she panicked. She went hysterical and she said, I was absolutely convinced I was going to die in a makeshift coffin in the middle of the woods alone. Oh my God. The PTSD that she must have endured afterwards. Now it took about a day for Robert Mackle to get this money together. Cause remember in this today's money is $4.5 million. It's a lot of fucking money.

And it's so specific. They can't be like the serial numbers and everything. It has to be in new twenties. But by the night of December 18th, he had collected all the $500,000 in cash as requested and he loaded the stacked bills into the suitcase. Now because there was such a tight timeline here, they had a lot of difficulty finding a specific suitcase that matched those dimensions. But eventually, it was Robert's employee, Billy Vessels, who found one that fit the

entire amount. Wow, he must've gotten fucking promoted after that. His business people are all coming together to help this situation. It makes you really think that these are good fucking people. Yeah. So Billy Vessels said, to me, it was fantastic the way the money fit. I don't think they could have put in one other bill. It was so damn heavy, I couldn't believe.

So they had measured it down to the last bill. And with the money ready to go, an ad was placed in the personal sections, exactly how they told them, and the Maccles could just wait. And with each hour that passed without word, they started wondering whether they would ever hear from anybody again, or whether they'd ever see their daughter again. Vessels, the employee said, it was high noon waiting for the damn telephone. We were rendered completely helpless.' And the process was made all more painful and frustrating

when the phone finally did ring a few hours later. And it was someone pranking the family, telling them they knew where Barbara was. Because people are always gonna fucking people. When I tell you people have always and will always be peoping, get it fucking together. The fact that people exist out there that take these situations and do that, you've got to be a fucking piece of shit.

I wish we could get all these people that make prank phone calls to families that are going through this kind of shit and put them on a list. Well, it should be like a high offense. Put them on an island. Put them on an island together. You, it should be like a high offense. Like if you get caught. Put them on an island together. You all live together. You deserve each other.

Like that's like God. Wow. So finally in the early hours of the morning, when everyone was about to give up, the phone rang a little before 4 a.m. Oh my God. It was a man's voice. And they said the man's voice was cold and very formal.

They said nothing like the prank callers tone. And Robert said he just instinctively knew this was the real kidnapper. And the caller gave Robert directions to a remote location on Fair Isle Street in rural Atlanta. And it passes over a causeway. And he said, if you look down the causeway, you'll see a blinking white light.

You'll put the money in the box, which will have a light on it. And he said, do it gently and then gently close the lid and you'll turn around and leave. Is that clear? Robert said, yes, he understood. And the kidnapper also provided a few other instructions. He said, you are to come alone. You are to drive your Lincoln to the location. You are to wear a white suit and that's it. These all indicated that the kidnappers were going to be monitoring the entire drop site and what was happening to make sure that he listened. This is reminding me of one of the cases that you just did and everything got ruined.

The Merri and Parker one. Now, given his power in social standing, Robert Mackel had a lot of control over how this case was handled, luckily, particularly when it came to law enforcement. So he told everyone he wanted to cooperate with the kidnappers and follow the instructions exactly. I would want to. None of the agents are going to argue with him and attempt to interfere. He was like, this is it.

I'm doing it. Thank goodness that he held the power that he did because this could go so differently. But they did tell him, we are gonna follow you in an unmarked car at a considerable distance. That we're gonna have agents around. Makes me so nervous. And an agent in the passenger seat

would be calling out each cross street they passed over the radio. So everyone at headquarters could follow along on the map. Now, when Robert finally reached the general area of the causeway, he became confused about where he was and he got turned around and lost his sense of direction. This is before GPS. And he was panicking. And he was going to get like a certain time. And so he's frantically looking for any houses or businesses that he can ask

for directions to. And he spotted a fisherman and this confusion had rippled back to the agents trailing him. So the cars and all the family members waiting back at headquarters are like, where is he? Where is he going? What's going on? They're all worried that the kidnappers are going to leave Barbara to die if anything goes wrong. Everyone's panicking. And Robert was luckily able to talk to this fisherman who gave him

good directions. Hell yeah, brother. Thank you, fisherman. And Robert was able to backtrack and make his way to the drop site. Oh my God. And he found the box under the causeway. So it was still there. The sun was starting to come up as Robert placed the suitcase in the middle box, did what he was told and went back to his car and drove away. Why did he have to wear a white suit? So they could tell that he was listening to what they said. That's fucking terrifying. They just want to know that you'll follow all their directions basically. And they want to make sure it's you.

They want to make sure all of that. But at this point, he's so scared that the chaos and confusion like fucked all this up. And he's like, I did everything perfect, but like, what if I didn't? Did they see anybody else? Did I mess something up? Yeah, like what happened? Less than 30 minutes after Robert drove away from this whole thing, two police officers, Paul Self and William Sweeney were just out patrolling and they spotted a parked car out

by the causeway. And this area where the causeway is a super rural. And even in a place where there's a lot of rural landscapes, a car being here was strange. So self, the police officer said, automatically I knew it didn't belong there. I didn't recognize it. So he's thinking it's something nefarious.

He's like, what's going on here? So the officers kind of like talk to each other, like, should we check it out? Should we just leave it alone? And they finally were like, let's going on here? So the officers kind of like talk to each other like, should we check it out? Should we just leave it alone? And they finally were like, let's go take a look. Let's at least go talk to this person. So as the officer's car approached the causeway, their headlights hit on two figures emerging from the brush.

Shut the fuck up. They appeared to be two men, one larger than the other and one carrying a suitcase. Now both officers jumped from their car and immediately called for them to stop, which sent them both scrambling in different directions. Officer Paul Self gave chase on foot and Sweeney pursued the man in his car trying to cut him off as he ducked into a backyard.

And while the smaller of the two men disappeared into the woods, the officers focused on pursuing the man with the suitcase. By the time they caught up to him, he was scrambling over a tall chain link fence and he dropped the suitcase behind him. I'm so nervous right now. Realizing they probably didn't get, they're not going to catch up to him at this point, they ended the chase and just grabbed the suitcase and went back to the local precinct.

So as the FBI agents back at headquarters listened to the police channels on the radio while they waited for Robert to come back, they caught a brief mention of two officers who'd spotted some suspicious activity out by the Fair Isle Causeway and pursued two unknown suspects into the woods. I'm so nervous that this is like going to fuck everything up. Yeah, it didn't take long before they realized that, oops, the local police didn't have any knowledge of the ransom exchange happening.

Oh my God. So the local police had no idea what they had just stumbled into. And so they had inadvertently botched the ransom drop. Why didn't I know that this would, why do ransom drops just never go to plan? Yeah, in a statement later that day, police chief Charles Price said, there has been no coordination

between us and the family or others. So that meant that FBI never informed them of the ransom drop. The local authorities had no idea. And they said, if we had known, we wouldn't have interfered. That was an oversight. But since they had not been aware of any of the situation, the two officers had no idea what they were walking into and just thought they were stopping a prowler.

Just doing their job. And when he learned of what had occurred, Robert Mackle was absolutely devastated. Of course he was. And he was absolutely certain he wasn't getting his daughter back. He was like, we fucked it up. While the FBI refused to make any statement

on the botched ransom drop, they did release a statement on Robert's behalf, indicating to the kidnappers that what had happened was in no way the fault of the Mackle family. Robert was quoted as saying, "'It was my desire and wish that everybody leave it alone. I want to do business with them. Please do not harm her.'"

Now the press release was broadcast all day and night on local television and radio stations, hoping the kidnappers would hear it and contact the Mackles. Later that evening, they did. Robert Mackle received another call from the kidnapper who agreed to give him one final chance to save their daughter. Well, because they want their money. They want the money. So he's told to take back them, take the money to the remote location again. So he's got to take a whole nother set of that money. Well now they have the suitcase. Oh, because the police got it.

So he was told to take the money to another remote location on the outskirts of where they were. And this time he was supposed to come alone. So not wanting to botch the exchange a second time, the FBI informed the local authorities of the upcoming exchange this time. They were like, this is happening and all parties agreed we will not interfere.

And this time everything went as planned. Thank goodness. Now, while the local police interference had foiled the plans for one smooth exchange, it wasn't all bad that that had happened because in their pursuit of the suspicious individuals on the causeway, officers Self and Sweeney discovered a Volvo station wagon with Massachusetts plates that they believed belonged to the two men they'd pursued into the woods.

He thought it's Massachusetts in this case. I know, I'm like, damn. Inside the car, they found rope, tape, a ski mask, believed to have been worn by the smaller person during the abduction, and more importantly, a key to Jane and Barbara's room at the roadway in. How did they get a key? Was it on Barbara possibly? They must have taken it. They also found other less incriminating evidence, including a woman's blonde wig,

several roadmaps, miscellaneous camera equipment, and rolls of film. At the scene, they also discovered a boat registered to Dr. Robert Hurley, which they believe the kidnappers used to reach the pickup location. Now, when the agents ran the plates on the Volvo, they learned that the car belonged to a man named George Gary Deacon, a resident of Massachusetts with no known criminal record and barely any evidence of any public existence whatsoever. That's weird. Inside the Volvo, they also found a stack of Polaroid photos depicting who they believed to be the kidnapper, George Deacon.

They were very provocative photos with an unknown young woman. They were just like pics of the kidnapper? Yeah. In one photo, Deacon was described as, quote, nude, heavily bearded. This is the description, by the way. You got to do what you got to do. I don't necessarily want you to, but here we are. Nude, heavily bearded

I'm so what are you gonna say bitch and beefy and fat? Lying on his back on the bed not beefy Barbara gets out of this guys, don't worry. Beefy. Just describing his brother beefy. Beefy is so rude. That's out of pocket. That is out of pocket. That is out of pocket. You didn't just say that.

I'm crying. Oh my god. That's the relief we needed in this tension-filled episode. It's the beefy. It's the beefy. It's the beefy for me. Sometimes I'm feeling beefy. You know what I mean? It's beefy. I wish they wrote, I wish in reckless way. Instead they could have said thick with two C's.

But they said beefy. I mean, this guy seems like an asshole. So yeah. And also, just to be clear, this other person in the photo is not Barbara. So don't worry. This is not that situation. And they're describing George. Yeah, they're describing adjectives. George Deacon.

Those quote unquote adjectives. Yeah. And in another photo, Deacon is nude except for a police cap on his head. Remember the kidnapper had the police cap. And he's holding a telephone as though he's about to make a call. And the other photos are of the young woman in various states of address,

undress posing provocatively. What the fuck are they up to here? Who knows? Just having a good time. Now, when the agents get to the fifth photo in the set, Oh no. There's suddenly evidence that this is definitely their kidnapper.

Cause it's Barbara. The fifth photo is of Barbara Mackle laying on her back on the ground. She is dressed and she has a sign reading kidnapped place under her chin. Oh my God. In the photo, Barbara's eyes are open. Her mouth is like a little open, like, and she looks, she doesn't look like, it's a strange look on her face. Can you look it up?

You can look it up. Okay, I'm gonna look. And remember, she is alive in this photo, but when they saw this photo, and I understand why they thought this, they thought she might be dead in the photo. Oh, God. Just because of the look on her face.

The photo set contains seven photos in total, but the agents knew the, and this is very interesting and like smart of them. The agents knew that the Polaroid cartridge that they used produced eight photos in total. So based on that, they presumed that there was one missing photo and that photo was likely of Barbara.

And that was probably the proof of existence that the ransom letter had referred to that they said they would send to the Maccles later. Okay. But the Maccles had not received it yet. Oh, wow. I can see why they thought. Right, she does have a look on her face

that could be looked at as she's not with us. Cause she's not smiling, but she's not not smiling. Yeah. Like she's definitely not happy. That's not what I'm saying. No, but it's a strange look. And I think that's why they were like, is she alive? Yeah.

Now, oh my God, this is fucking chilling. So they assume that this final photo is the one that was being sent to the Mackles, but they hadn't received it yet. So they found all these photos. They now have a name, George Deacon. They have dropped off.

Don't you dare. They're ransom. Don't you do it. Everything has been put in place and now they just have to wait. And when we come back for part two, you're going to hear some mind blowing shit about George Deacon. I'm so scared. So get ready.

It gets crazier. How even? It gets crazier. Alina, this case is cuckoo nuts bananas. This might be, and especially because she survives, one of my favorite cases we've covered. Dave also was saying this as he was going through it. Like this was, he was like, this is fucking mind blowing. Sometimes you just need a case where somebody survives. Yes. Six years in.

And there's a fun little, like there's also a fun little tidbit at the end that even adds to like the, like, oh wow. All right. Okay. So like, it'll all come in the end, we'll all get to go, huh, okay. All right. see, sometimes you need that. But it's gonna get wild till then. Okay. So, okay, Joe. So strap in. Well, keep listening. We hope you do.

We hope you keep listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you forget your outro and just babble it all out. I was like, I'll figure out how to do that. Listening, we hope. Our hopes. Listening. Our hopes.

Bye. Bye. Bye. I'm going to go to the bathroom. If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.