Carter Roy (27:46)
In 1940, things were coming together for the Coors family in Golden, Colorado. Their brewery had recovered from Prohibition and was thriving under the leadership of 56 year old Adolph Coors Jr. And his two eldest sons, Ad and Bill. But a year later the US entered World War II and the company was in jeopardy once more. Luckily, 26 year old Ad and 25 year old Bill managed to avoid the draft. Ad's ticket out was his nearsightedness the that meant he was able to stay home with his new wife, 26 year old Mary, who was expecting their first child. Bill's excuse came straight from the government. They needed Coors Porcelain to make a special type of insulator for a top secret project. Once again, the pottery company had saved Coors while the brewery struggled to break even. Grain rations had severely hampered production at the brewery. They limped along as best they could for four years until 1945 when the end of World War II was finally in sight. As the country emerged from wartime restrictions, the US Economy saw massive growth and so did the business. The brewery picked up again and the Coors family was back on top. By 1952, 37 year old A.D. coors had what some might consider a dream life. He and Mary had four children, two girls and two boys. They had a beautiful home in Denver, Colorado. Mary's days were spent taking care of the house and kids while her nights were busy with social gatherings and charity events. Meanwhile, Ad was still plugging away at the brewery and things were going so well that 68 year old Adolf Jr. Officially made him the chairman and CEO of the Adolf Coors Company. But it didn't change much. AD was still running the business side of things while 36 year old Bill was the brewmaster and company spokesperson. By then their youngest brother, 35 year old Joe, was in charge of Coors Porcelain and Even though Ad was now the chair chairman, his dad didn't completely give him the reins. Adolf Jr. Was still the majority shareholder in the company's stock and had the final say on all things Coors. But if it bothered Ad, he didn't let it show. He'd been working for his father for over a decade at this point. He handled all the administrative work and dealt with the distributors. He was good at it. Like his grandfather, Ad was well liked and respected. But while this brewery had been his grandfather's fantasy, it wasn't AD's. Deep down, AD wanted to quit the family business and work for himself on a ranch. He dreamed of raising horses and being outside every day. He and Mary had been discussing it for years, and in 1956, she finally agreed. Ad found his dream property, 480 acres of prairie in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was near a little town called Morrison, about 15 miles southwest of Denver. He eagerly got to work designing his dream ranch, complete with stables, a comfortable home for his family. He didn't know things at work were about to get very heated. In 1956, the workers at Coors Porcelain went on strike over wage negotiations. But it wasn't just the ceramics factory that was in trouble. Before long, the brewery staff declared a strike in solidarity. While Ad stayed on the sidelines, his brothers Joe and Bill tried to do damage control. Negotiations were resolved quickly, and work resumed. But the whole thing left a bad taste in Bill and Joe's mouths. They were sick of unions and wanted them gone. The following year, when it was time to renegotiate contracts with the union reps at the brewery, Bill and Joe were ready to play hardball. The details are complicated, but essentially they wanted to add numerous clauses that would render the union powerless. As expected, the reps rejected all of it and declared a strike. It only lasted a few months, but things got ugly. Strikers broke windows and made threatening phone calls. The family had to hire security just in case things went further south. In the end, Bill and Joe took a move straight out of their dad's playbook. They fired the strikers and hired replacements. While all of that was happening, Ad was behind the scenes, focusing on his own work. In the summer of 1958, the ranch was completed. Life finally did feel like a dream for A.D. coors, for the most part, anyway. He still commuted 12 miles to his family's brewery for work, but at least now he did it without the city traffic. He looked forward to getting out from under his family's thumb and growing old on the ranch with Mary. And for two blissful years, it seemed like an actual possibility. But fate had other plans. The morning of Tuesday, February 9, 1960, began just like any other 45 year old. Ad Woke up before everyone else and went down to the basement to do some stretching and weightlifting. After a shower, he got dressed and met Mary in the kitchen for coffee. They chatted while sipping from their steaming mugs. When Mary went to wake their four kids for school, Ed went out into the frozen morning air to tend to his beloved ranch for a bit. By the time he came back inside, his children had already caught the bus. By 8am AD was ready to leave for the brewery. He kissed Mary goodbye and promised to be home for supper. He pulled his white and teal travel wall station wagon out of the garage, waving to his ranch hands as he backed down the driveway. At 10:30am Bill and Joe Coors were waiting for AD in the office they all shared. Usually, AD was extremely prompt. They all had to be. But this week their father, Adolf Jr. Was on vacation in Hawaii, so things were a bit more relaxed around the office. They assumed Ad was out in a field and lost track of time. Bill asked AD's secretary to find out where he was when the phone rang at the ranch, Mary answered. She was a little worried to hear he hadn't made it to the office yet. They didn't have much time to talk that morning, but Ad didn't mention making any stops on the way in. The secretary was getting concerned too. Ad always called ahead, especially if he was going to be late for the executives meeting with his brothers. She and Mary called everywhere they could think of. The feed store, the warehouse, even the offices at the porcelain company. Ad was nowhere to be found. Then, sometime around noon, the Colorado State Patrol contacted the brewery about a company car. It was found abandoned on a country road. Bill and Joe rushed to meet the patrolman. When they arrived, they saw AD's travel all. It was near Turkey Creek Bridge, just two miles from AD's ranch. The officer explained that a milkman had reported the vehicle at 10:20 that morning. He'd been making his morning deliveries when he came across the Travelall, completely blocking the path. The bridge was just wide enough for one car to pass at a time. There was no way to get around it. He got out of his vehicle to see what was going on. The first thing he noticed was that the car was still running. He could hear the engine and the radio, and yet there was no sign of the driver. Assuming they had to be nearby, the milkman honked the Travelol's horn a few times. He waited for a while, but still no one came. Finally, he moved the Travelol himself. He got into the car, drove it past the bridge, and parked it on the side of the road. When he came back after making his delivery, the vehicle was still there. It took a few stops on his regular route before he could get to a phone, but as soon as he did, he called the state patrol. When the patrolman arrived, the Travelall was still exactly where the milkman said he'd left it. Clearly no one had made any attempts to retrieve it. Looking around for clues, the officer spotted two hats on the banks of the creek. He showed them to Bill and Joe. They immediately recognized one. They'd know the tan baseball cap anywhere. AD loved that hat. The other was a brown fedora that neither of the brothers recognized. It didn't look like something AD would own, and it was slightly bigger than the baseball cap. The men surveyed the scene together and Bill spotted some tire tracks near the end of the bridge. Someone else had been there, and they'd left in a hurry. From what little they'd found, it didn't look good. Someone would have to tell Mary. Worse, someone would have to tell Adolph Jr. It seemed their father's worst nightmare had come true. The Coors had been kidnapped. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Scams, Money and Murder. If you enjoyed this episode, you can check out more just like it by searching for Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcast. Scams, Money and Murder is a Crime House original. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. 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