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05
George H.W.
Weyerhaeuser
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Photo courtesy of Newspapers.com
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05
GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER - GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER - GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER -
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GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER - GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER - GEORGE H. W. WEYERHAEUSER -
05
George H.W.
Weyerhaeuser
1926 - 2022
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One of America’s Most Famous Kidnapping Stories.

The great-grandson, George H.W. Weyerhaeuser, of the Weyerhaeuser Company’s founder, Frederick E. Weyerhaeuser, was kidnapped. George’s kidnapping made national headlines, including in his hometown newspaper, The Tacoma Daily Ledger.

George Weyerhaeuser’s kidnapping was front-page news across the nation, including in The Seattle Times. (Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times)
George Weyerhaeuser’s kidnapping was front-page news across the nation, including in The Seattle Times. (Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times)

The following is a play-by-play of George’s kidnapping and release.

overview

  • Victim:

    George H.W.

    Weyerhaeuser

  • Age:

    9 years old

  • Abducted

    May 24, 1935

    from Tacoma

  • Released

    June 01, 1945

    near Issaquah

  • Ransom

    $200,000

    $4.3 Million in 2023

  • Offenders

    William Dainard, 33

    Harmon Metz Waley, 23

    Margaret Eldora Thulin, 19

Offenders were inspired to kidnap George after reading his grandfather John Philip Weyerhaeuser Sr.’s obituary, which detailed the family’s timber wealth.

DAY 01 DAY 02 DAY 05 DAY 06 DAY 07 DAY 09

Day 01

May 24, 1935

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George was walking home from Lowell Elementary on N. Fourth Street in Tacoma when he was snatched by two men in a 1927 Buick.

  • Why Was 9-year-old George walking home alone?

    The Weyerhaeuser children were typically met at school by the family chauffeur and taken to the Weyerhaeuser home for lunch. George had walked to Annie Wright Seminary on Tacoma Avenue to meet his sister, Anne, but his school had released students earlier that Friday, and so George arrived at his sister’s 15 minutes early.

    Rather than wait, George decided to walk home past the Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club. When he got to Borough Road, George encountered two men sitting in a Buick. The passenger exited the vehicle and approached the 9-year-old, asking for directions to Stadium Way. Suddenly he seized the boy, pulled him into the back seat of the car and covered him with a blanket. The automobile sped away.

It wasn’t long before the Weyerhaeuser family realized that George was missing and, after a brief search, notified the Tacoma Police Department.

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At about 6:25 p.m., a postal carrier arrived at the Weyerhaeuser residence with a letter.

The letter demanded a ransom of $200,000 in small, unmarked bills. To authenticate the demand, the kidnappers had George sign the back of the ransom note.

The typewritten letter contained 21 points and gave the family five days to raise the money.

The note said the family would be notified of George’s release following the ransom’s delivery. The letter was signed "Egoist."

“To Whom it May Concern,”

the letter said …

"In five days or as soon as you have the money, advertise in the Seattle P-I classifieds. Say 'We are ready.' and sign it 'Percy Minnie.'"

Egoist

The FBI was Involved in the Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping.

More than a dozen FBI agents were sent to Tacoma to investigate leads.

  • How did the FBI Track the ransom money?

    After the ransom money had been collected, agents compiled the serial numbers of the bills, which were sent to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.. The 10-page list was distributed to post offices, banks, hotels, railway depots, etc. where money was passed. This technique had helped the FBI solve other high-profile kidnappings.

Day 02

May 25, 1935

Time to Notify the Kidnappers.

The Weyerhaeuser family published two advertisements in the Seattle Post- Intelligencer want ads letting the kidnapper know the family would comply with ransom demands. 

The first ad read:

“Expect to be ready to come Monday. Answer. 
Percy Minnie.”

The second ad read:

“Due to publicity beyond our control, please indicate another method of reaching you. Hurry, 
relieve anguished mother. Percy Minnie.”

Day 05

May 28, 1935

Ransom
Money Ready.

On May 28, 1935, one day before the kidnapper’s deadline, George’s father, John Philip Weyerhaeuser Jr., placed an ad in the Seattle P-I, that read:

“We are ready. Percy Minnie.”

The family kept the ransom negotiations secret and law enforcement agreed to refrain from any interference until George was released.

Day 06

May 28, 1935

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At 7 p.m., John Philip Weyerhaeuser, Jr. registered at the Ambassador Hotel in Seattle under the name James Paul Jones. He was instructed to do so in a letter from the kidnappers. Enclosed with the kidnapper’s letter was a handwritten note from George – the boy was safe.

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At 9:45 p.m., while at the hotel, Weyerhaeuser received another note from a taxicab driver. The letter had specific instructions for him.

  • Step 01:

    Drive to Rainer Valley with the money.

  • Step 02:

    Look for a stake with a white flag on the right-hand side of S. Renton Ave.

  • Step 03:

    Look in the tin can under the flag.

  • Step 04 (New Note):

    Drive straight ahead 700 feet to another white cloth and park.

  • Step 05:

    Leave the engine running and parking lights on.

Weyerhaeuser did as he was told, but nothing happened. After waiting there for three hours, he returned to Seattle with the money.

Day 07

May 30, 1935

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Weyerhaeuser received an anonymous telephone call at the Ambassador Hotel asking why he had failed to follow the instructions in the second note. Weyerhaeuser explained that he hadn’t found a second note. He was then told that he would be contacted with new instructions – and that it would be his last chance to save his son.

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At 9 p.m., George’s father received a telephone call from a man, affecting a European accent, that instructed him to …

Drive with the money to 1105 E. Madison St. and look for a tin can, directly inside the gate, that will contain further instructions.

This time, Weyerhaeuser was told to drive to the Half Way House on Highway 99 near Angle Lake. A series of notes in tin cans, marked by white flags, eventually instructed him to …

  • Step 01:

    Park the car and place the bag with the $200,000 ransom on the front seat.

  • Step 02:

    Leave the vehicle with the engine running.

  • Step 03:

    Dome the light and leave the driver's door open.

  • Step 04:

    Walk down the road toward the highway.

  • Release Statement

    If the money is in order, George will be released within 30 hours.

After Weyerhaeuser walked about 100 yards, a man ran to get into his car, a 1933 Pontiac, and drove off. Weyerhaeuser walked back to the highway and caught a ride to Tacoma to await word.

Day 09

June 01, 1935

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At 3:30 a.m. on June 1, 1935, the kidnappers released George Weyerhaeuser on the Issaquah-Hobart Road near Issaquah, with two blankets and a dollar. It was raining, so George started walking.

Six miles later, he wandered onto a farm. He was taken into the house, fed breakfast, and given a pair of dry shoes and socks to wear. Then the farmer put the boy into his Model T Ford and headed for Tacoma.

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At 6:30 a.m., the farmer stopped in Renton at a gas station and asked the attendant to telephone the Weyerhaeuser residence, but there was no answer.

Next, he called the Tacoma Police Department, telling them George was safe and he was driving him home.

Before arriving at the Weyerhaeuser residence, George and the farmer were intercepted by a sportswriter for the Seattle Times. The reporter was able to gain an exclusive interview with George.

  • How did a sportswriter get an exclusive interview with George?

    A sportswriter for The Seattle Times, was in Tacoma covering the story, when he received a tip that George had been released. On a hunch, he hailed a taxi and headed toward Renton. He managed to intercept the Model T Ford on the Pacific Highway, about 18 miles from Tacoma. The reporter gave the farmer the impression he was a police officer and, for $5, he was persuaded to relinquish custody of the boy.

    The Times writer hustled George into his taxi and, taking back roads to avoid police cars and the press, headed toward Tacoma. As George crouched on the back seat, away from the window, the reporter sat on the floor, interviewing the boy and taking notes.

Arrival

Coming Home.

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At 7:45 a.m., George H.W. Weyerhaeuser arrived at the Weyerhaeuser house.

George was Home.

Soon after, a spokesman for the family issued a statement announcing that George had returned home safely – and asking for limited press to prevent more trauma for George. However, by then, that sleuth reporter’s exclusive interview with “the world’s most famous kidnap victim,” was on the front page of The Seattle Times.

  • Was the farmer rewarded for aiding George?

    In appreciation for helping his son, J. P. Weyerhaeuser Jr. gave the kindly farmer lifetime employment in a Weyerhaeuser Timber Company mill and a monetary reward sufficient enough to purchase several acres of land and build a new house.

Punishment for the Kidnappers.

George’s kidnappers were caught and found guilty – all thanks to stores reporting the passing of ransom bills to the FBI.

William
Dainard

0
years in prison

Harmon
Metz Waley

0
years in prison

Margaret
Eldora Thulin

0
years in prison

A fourth convict, Edward Fiss, pleaded guilty to helping Dainard launder ransom money and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Life After the Kidnapping.

After graduating from Yale University, George H. W. Weyerhaeuser worked for his great-grandfather Frederick E. Weyerhaeuser’s company for nearly six decades in various roles, including mill foreman and general manager.

Weyerhaeuser, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather also led the company that carries the family name, served as CEO from 1966 to 1991 and as board chairman through 1999.

George Weyerhaeuser shown in 1980. (Photo courtesy of The Seattle Times)

The fourth-generation Weyerhaeuser family heir and one of America’s most famous kidnapping victims died on June 11, 2022. He was 95 years old.

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Roy Maxwelton
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