|
Post by xjd on Jun 30, 2012 14:22:12 GMT -5
hello all! i am a new member but have been reading everything i can get my hands on regarding LKC, including this board, for quite some time. my compliments to all the experts on here, your work is truly impressive! i learn something new every time i'm here.
so please excuse if this has been addressed before; if indeed the kidnapping was done by one or more amateurs (as most experts seem to think?), would not the fact that in a pretty rural area there were several witnesses to the green sedan scare off potential kidnappers? from what little i know of people living out in the sticks, any stranger is cause for investigation due to nosiness if not suspicion.
or is this perhaps an example of Hauptmann's feeling of invincibility, if one subscribes to the theory that he was involved in the snatch?
anyway, thanks for reading & any comments are greatly appreciated!
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Jul 1, 2012 7:18:32 GMT -5
Hello and thanks for posting! There's no questions off the table, and sometimes the same question/subject needs to be asked more then once.
The Locals did notice everything - most especially a "strange" vehicle. I have an enormous file that I have assembled just on this topic. You've mentioned the color "green" which I have attempted to see whether or not the "dark blue" or "black" sedans seen might have been the same car.
I think any group attempting to pull this off would have planned the crime. During that planning they would have to know their way around. Next, just as you suggest, they would expect to be seen and noticed by Locals which I believe the ladder being inside the vehicle as evidence of planning for that fact.
However, what you suggest about being "scared off" should be considered when reviewing the Conover's eyewitness account. That is, they see this car which they think may be stuck. The initial reaction was to assist, but that was over-ruled. Why? They wanted to "mind their own business". This is one variable that I believe often gets overlooked. The Sourlands had been home to many people involved in various petty crimes. Some involving alcohol could get the wrong person killed if they weren't careful, and there was even a revenge theory against Lindbergh along the lines of this idea.
So while there is a staggering amount of information at the NJSP Archives concerning ideas, information, eyewitness accounts, etc. I think there was just as much that some people were keeping to themselves.
|
|
|
Post by jdanniel on Jul 1, 2012 13:36:42 GMT -5
I live about half an hour or so from Highfields and have been there a couple of times.
It's not easy to find. Even if it is daytime and you are familiar with the area, it's not easy to find. Maybe it's easier to find nowadays with a GPS, but it wasn't when I visited there.
So...imagine a dark, windy, rainy night. You're from the Bronx, and you're driving around Hopewell, trying to find a house to snatch a baby from. It doesn't sound plausible, does it?
Unless you've made a few trial drives there and back. But...when? How do you do it without going unnoticed back home? How often do you have to go to become familiar with the roads?
How willing are you to risk being seen driving around there...not once, probably not even just twice?
It just doesn't make sense. Is it utterly impossible? No. How likely is it? Not very.
Unless you knew someone in the area who could show you around...someone who lived close enough to Highfields to be familiar with the roads, but just distant enough for you to drive to his/her/their place and not draw so much attention to yourself.
But...who would you know in the area? How did you meet?
What starts out as a simple question just snowballs into something very complex....seemingly too complex for one person to be involved in.
Jd
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2012 14:19:44 GMT -5
I agree with what you say jdanniel. There must have been a local connection involved with this crime. I wonder if Hauptmann knew anyone in the area that he could trust to help him?
Welcome to the board xjd. I am rather new at posting here and still have a stack of reading material to go through. It seems the more you learn the more complicated everything gets.
Green cars and dark blue cars were seen in the area. I wonder if anyone has put together any figures on how many green cars and how many blue cars. There could have been more than one car involved with this crime.
|
|
|
Post by xjd on Jul 1, 2012 16:12:58 GMT -5
jdanniel; your points are interesting and very well thought out, certainly having a local's help would make the job easier.
also, didn't Hauptmann have his green car repainted to blue? (or was it the other way around?) anyone know if the police checked into the timing of that switch?
|
|
|
Post by Michael on Jul 2, 2012 8:28:32 GMT -5
I've heard this before but I can't remember where. I've seen no evidence of it. It was the exact same color when he was arrested as the color on his purchase receipt.
The best way is to simply compile ALL suspicious cars then, once you're done, make a comparison. Over the years I've seen quite a few. I think there's one at the Archives Mark may have put together.
|
|