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February 15, 2026

Ignoring Clint Eastwood's advice in "Dirty Harry" that opinions, like certain body parts, are best kept to yourself.

The Kidnapping of Annie Howes

Kidnapping is a terrifying experience that can happen to anyone, anywhere. In the US, around 2,300 children go missing daily, making kidnapping an alarming form of disappearance. Kidnapping rates vary across states, including those of strangers and familial kidnappings. Motives range from criminal intent to political reasons or personal vendettas. That said, protecting your family and loved ones is of utmost importance. Kidnapping is a serious global crime that affects both children and adults.

When I was vice president of a bank in Billings, Montana in the early 1970's I got a phone call at work one afternoon that "they had my daughter", and wanted ten thousand dollars in small bills, or I would never see her again. Ten grand doesn't sound like much now, but back then, it was a year's salary for most people. I made three phone calls, one to my wife at home (no answer) another to the bank owner, who told me it must be a hoax, but the bank would cover the ransom, and the third to the Billings office of the FBI who told me to stay where I was and they would be right there. Within 15 minutes, everyone was here at the bank, and we all raced to my home, about a mile away. Hazel was home, as was my oldest son Glenn who had just gotten home from school. My 4 year old daughter, Annie, was nowhere to be found. Panic was setting in. There was a park a block away where Annie liked to play with her friends, and we all, now with FBI agents in tow, went down there. There she was, chewing some gum she'd peeled off the bleachers at the park's baseball field. Crisis over, and everyone left. My son Glenn, who was a fan of the FBI television show, said, about the agent in charge who was wearing a checkered sports coat, "he sure didn't look like Efren Zimbalist, Junior".

The hit television show ''The FBI'' ran on television from 1965 to 1974, starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. the son of renowned Russian-born concert violinist Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (1889-1985) and Romanian-born opera singer Alma Gluck (1884-1938). The FBI loved the show, which gave the agency a very positive image.

The next day, the FBI called to tell me that two other Billings banks had gotten the same call. I never heard from the kidnapper again, and he was never caught. The most frightening experience of my life. Now, over 50 years later, Annie is alive and well, and buys her own chewing gum.

My daughter Annie and her family went with me to visit Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada, and many places between there and her home in Minnesota in August, 2023.

My daughter Annie and her family went with me to visit Jasper National Park in Alberta Canada, and many places between there and her home in Minnesota in August, 2023.

Please visit my travel blog to learn more about my life on the road.

Follow us as we travel around in our motorhome.

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I welcome responses, and will be glad to post them here. Email your remarks to ron@global-air.com

This space is waiting for your comment ... Send me an email. ron@global-air.com

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