John Dillinger killed, or was it our neighbor's son?
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Back in the 1960s, we had a neighbor, Mrs. Osborne. My dad would do small errands for her because she couldn't get around well. She was an elderly woman who lived alone. She asked dad one time to take a look at some old pictures she had.
Dad looked at the pictures and asked her if she was related to the famous bank robber, John Dillinger? She just smiled and said,"No, that is my son....he has been missing since July of 1934." She told dad that her son had been arrested twice because he looked so much like the infamous criminal.
Her son had also pretended a few times with the ladies to get attention. The last she saw of her son was in June of 1934. He went to Chicago on a business trip and told his mother that he would be gone a few weeks. She claimed that he would always send postcards from the hotels he stayed at. She told dad that her son would always write her...always!
She stated that after July, the postcards never came again. Her son never came home. He disappeared from the face of the earth. She contacted the local police and wrote the FBI. The police pretty much ignored her and the FBI never responded.
Her son was in his mid 30s when he disappeared. He always wore a suit and a nice fedora hat. I wish I could remember more details about the story. I was only six years old when we lived across from Mrs. Osborne. Dad would talk about her many times throughout the years. He always spoke of how much the pictures of her son looked like John Dillinger.
All I can remember of her is a red and gray dress she wore while watering her flowers.
Was it her son that the FBI killed that day? Was she just a victim of timing and her son never returned for an unknown reason? She shared the story with my dad and my dad shared it with me. Brookville Indiana is where we lived at the time. Mrs. Osborne will always be in my memories.
Such a lonesome feeling when I think of her....very lonesome.
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Comments
ralwus...still a mystery.....one of those strange things of life. Thanks. :)
Talk about piqueing the reader's interest! Fascinating story with a bit of a melancholic tone.
I like mysteries myself. We should investigate this further. I won't be able to sleep now.
Dink96...thanks....it is one of those stories that I really wish I had more to write about. I just can't remember much more than what my dad had told me.
Thanks again.
ralwus....there were rumors that the FBI made a deal with Dillinger and sent him to South America. Other rumors said that he had plastic surgery and lived in California. Who knows?
Ooooh a mystery!!! My first thot is a mother never wants to know the truth. This could be it, but the history of the "names being different" would be good to research. Thanks Tom!
Interesting story. Guess she never knew for sure what happened to him.
The woman in the red dress knew. I must leave now as Wee One wants to do her thing on here. See ya later T.
Wow, a mystery! It would be great to be able to research the name. But wow, wouldn't it be amazing to think it's his mom!
Candie....I've done a little research on it....there were just so many rumors at the time. Mrs. Osborne's story is defiantely real tho. Thanks! :)
lafenty....she hadn't heard from him in 30 years....that's a long time without contact. thanks! :)
ralwus....yes...she would have known unless the man she was with was lying to her. Thanks...see ya! :)
Candie...LOL...her son only looked like Dillinger....she thought they killed her son instead of Dillinger. :)
whoa...very cool and eerie. I think you start clue hunting. You could be like Nancy Drew! Or wait, I mean the Hardy Boys ;)
Janetta...LOL...I prefer Sherlock Holmes. :)
That just goes to show that you never know who your neighbors are!
dori
fortunrep.....nope.....thanks for dropping by! :)
How exciting. Loved the story. Kinda makes you think. :)
This sounds like a mystery for one of the network news magazines. Maybe they could dig more into it. There must be records of what her son did for a living and what his business would have been in Chicago. Really cool stuff.
Paper Moon......Thanks......it does make you think. :)
Pete....I have tried to do some research on it. Being the 1930s, there isn't much information. There were so many rumors and conspiracy theories back then. I wish I could remember more about her. Thanks! :)
Maybe both of them were her sons; identical twins!
nazishnasim.....Her family history may show a similar bloodline? Thanks. :)
Dig him up and do DNA test!!! Grab yer shovel Tom.....we're on a mission.
R. Blue...LOL...that would definitely do it! I think we should rent a back hoe !Thanks! :)
Wow, this is my kind of story--I love the open-end. Mystery's or any other kind of stories that have a "happy-ever-after" are nice but I leave them for the fairy-tales, this type of story makes you THINK AND REMEMBER.
Really interesting Tom. Some kind of mystery. I wonder????
Fascinating. A real life mystery. Thanks for revealing this to us. It is sad but intriguing.
Ginn......yes....this is one of those open end mysteries....thanks! :)
alekhouse......thanks.....I wonder too. :)
Storytellersrus......thanks......it is sad...her son was gone and no authority would listen.
Maybe the authorities were on a cover up, she must have waited for that postman all her life.
Hawkesdream...thanks....You're probably right.....she waited till she died.
There used to be a girl here in town that looked just like me. A doppelganger, maybe?
LOL......Good thing she wasn't public enemy no. 1. :)
ralwus says:
5 months ago
Cool hub Tom. I though John was from out west some where. Poor Mr.s Osborne. Still a mystery then.