Podcast Summary:

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: This is Your FBI: The Cold Blooded Kidnapper (01/18/1946)
Original Date: December 7, 2025 (rebroadcast)

Episode Overview

This episode revisits a gripping case from the FBI files, dramatizing the kidnapping of a teenage girl from a modest family by a desperate and remorseless criminal. Rather than sensationalize high-profile cases, the story highlights how every crime, regardless of the victim’s status or the ransom demanded, receives the full attention of the authorities. The drama emphasizes the coordinated efforts of the FBI and local law enforcement to ensure public safety and the rule of law, while serving as both entertainment and a vehicle for postwar public reassurance.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Breakdown

1. Setting the Scene (03:13–05:29)

• Narration establishes context: The episode opens by framing the kidnapping epidemic as a societal threat, stating, “A crime against any member of society is a crime against the whole of society.” (03:13)
• Introductory setting: We’re placed in rural New England, where the Monroe family struggles in poverty, leading Jed Monroe to concoct a criminal scheme.

2. The Kidnapping Plot Unfolds (05:29–07:24)

• Jed Monroe manipulates Dottie Barnes: Pretending to need help for his ailing wife, he lures high schooler Dottie Barnes into his car under false pretenses.
• Tension escalates:
  • Dottie becomes suspicious: “Excuse me, but Miller street is down the other way.” (06:47)
  • Jed’s response is chilling: “Was this the way I want to go?” (06:52)
• Physical abduction: Dottie’s pleas go ignored; Jed silences her and drives away.

3. Law Enforcement Mobilizes (07:24–09:00)

• Police and FBI coordination: Special Agent Briggs is notified of the kidnapping and quickly puts standard FBI procedure into motion: “Our first consideration is the victim's safe return.” (08:07)
• Briggs and his partner Wade set up an observation post at the family’s home.

4. Life in Captivity and Family Anguish (09:00–11:05)

• Dottie regains consciousness in Monroe’s squalid home, frightened and desperate.
• Clara Monroe’s conflicted role: Armed, she demands her cut of the ransom and keeps Jed at bay, but offers Dottie little comfort: “Don’t get no wrong ideas, miss. It ain’t that I’m sticking up for you.” (10:30)

5. Ransom Demand and Investigation Breakthrough (11:05–13:27)

• Kidnapper’s call: Jed contacts Barnes, demanding $1,000 and threatening his daughter’s life: “If the police are watching, you’ll never see her again, you understand?” (11:41)
• FBI traces call: The call is linked to Drake’s Drugstore—witnesses provide a physical and vehicular description, focusing attention on Monroe.

6. Criminal Escalation & Infighting (13:27–14:40)

• Clara’s fate: Tensions boil; Jed, fearing betrayal, murders his wife in cold blood. “I’m getting you out of my sight for good.” (14:29) — The stakes for Dottie’s survival rise dramatically.
• Jed threatens Dottie: “Now, young lady, if you don't do like I say from now on, same thing will happen to you.” (14:40)

7. The Manhunt (17:35–19:40)

• FBI strategy: The agents release details to the press and spread physical descriptions widely.
• Breakthrough from rural informant: The general store owner recognizes Jed Monroe from the composite sketch: “It can’t be nobody else, but this is a heap better looking than him.” (19:10)
• Agents locate the shack: Inside, they find evidence of Dottie’s captivity and Clara’s body—“One of them didn’t clear out. Look over in the corner...must be Monroe’s wife.” (21:12)

8. Monroe On the Run, Dottie in Peril (21:41–25:19)

• Jed’s menacing calculus: He views Dottie as a “meal ticket,” planning further ransom extortion.
• Dottie resists writing another plea to her father; Jed threatens her: “Better be remembering what happened to my wife, Clara.” (25:08–25:19)

9. Final Confrontation and Rescue (25:19–25:46)

• FBI intervention: Agents arrive in the nick of time.
  • Special Agent Briggs: “My hands are just itching for you to resist.” (25:33)
• Dottie is rescued unharmed.

10. Resolution & Public Reassurance (25:46–28:58)

• Aftermath: Dottie is safely reunited with her family. Jed Monroe is tried and executed for the murder of Clara, as well as held for kidnapping.
• Public Service Message:
  • J. Edgar Hoover’s guidance for families in case of kidnapping:
    • Contact FBI immediately.
    • Keep details private and share only with law enforcement.
    • Preserve all evidence.
    • Remain calm and maintain normal routines.
• Societal note: The episode concludes with a reminder of the public’s role in deterring crime: “With your help, they shall be smashed again.” (27:28)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jed Monroe’s cynicism about work: “A man don’t make no real money working with his hands. He gets it out up here, his head thinking.” (04:49)
• Dottie’s rising fear: “Excuse me, but Miller street is down the other way.” (06:47)
• Special Agent Briggs’ priority: “Our first consideration is the victim's safe return.” (08:07)
• Chilling threat: Jed warns Dottie, “If you do decide to start talking...I'll be doing the same thing to you I done to my old woman.” (22:33)
• On vigilante justice: “My hands are just itching for you to resist.” — Special Agent Briggs during Monroe’s arrest (25:33)
• Public reassurance from the FBI: “You were a vital part of that army which over a decade ago smashed the hordes of kidnappers who preyed on you and members of your families. With your help, they shall be smashed again.” (27:28)

Important Timestamps

• 03:13: Introduction to the nature of the case and its social significance.
• 05:29–07:24: Dottie’s abduction unfolds.
• 11:07–11:43: The ransom call to Dottie’s father.
• 13:39–14:40: Jed murders his wife to eliminate loose ends.
• 17:35–19:15: FBI receives key lead identifying Monroe.
• 21:12: Agents discover Clara’s body.
• 25:19–25:46: Final confrontation and Dottie’s rescue.
• 26:08–28:58: Aftermath, FBI procedure guidance, and societal call to action.

Tone & Language

True to the era, the episode balances stark realism with dramatized dialogue, using direct and sometimes grim descriptions, matter-of-fact agent commentary, and earnest public appeals. Authority figures are depicted as resolute, while the criminals are portrayed with a mix of menace and desperation. The tone is urgent, responsible, and ultimately reassuring.

This episode is a classic piece of radio storytelling, combining suspenseful crime drama with a public service message and a reassurance of society’s resilience when citizens, law enforcement, and public institutions join together.