Charles F. Urschel
Charles Frederick Urschel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Washington Township, Hancock County, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 1970 (aged 80) |
| Occupation | Oil industry magnate |
| Known for | Kidnapping victim of George "Machine Gun" Kelly; aiding FBI in capture of kidnappers |
Charles Frederick Urschel (March 7, 1890 – September 26, 1970) was a prominent American oil industry magnate and a kidnapping victim of George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Urschel significantly contributed to resolving his own abduction by committing key details to memory during his captivity and leaving fingerprints, which ultimately aided the FBI in apprehending the perpetrators after his release.
Early years
Urschel was born in 1890 in Washington Township, Hancock County, Ohio to parents Daniel Urschel and Emma Bangert. He married Flored Slick, sister of renowned oil tycoon Thomas Baker Slick Sr., famously called "The King of the Wildcatters." Following Flored’s passing in 1931, Urschel wed Berenice, the widow of Thomas Slick, merging their assets to become among the wealthiest couples in Oklahoma City.
Kidnapping
On July 22, 1933, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Albert L. Bates forcibly took Urschel and fellow oilman Walter R. Jarrett at gunpoint during a bridge game at Urschel’s residence in Oklahoma City. Jarrett was soon released, but Urschel remained captive for over a week at a farmhouse near Paradise, Texas. A ransom totaling $200,000 (equivalent to about $4.52 million in 2022) was paid securing his freedom.
Despite being blindfolded during his imprisonment, Urschel meticulously recorded environmental cues, including the timing of an airplane flying overhead. This information proved crucial for the FBI in pinpointing the kidnappers’ location. The case attracted intense focus from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who made it a priority to showcase the effectiveness of the newly enacted federal kidnapping legislation.
FBI agent Gus Jones led an operation on the farmhouse with Urschel present, resulting in the arrest of owners Robert and Ora Shannon as well as bank robber Harvey Bailey, who was found holding some ransom funds. Further investigations culminated in the conviction of seven individuals connected to the crime.
George and Kathryn Kelly were apprehended on September 26, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee. George Kelly’s reported remark "Don't Shoot, G-men" became widely associated with FBI agents’ nicknames. Both were tried in Oklahoma City; contrary to expectations that they would plead guilty, they were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Edgar S. Vaught on October 12, 1933.
This widely publicized case represented a pivotal moment for federal law enforcement and reinforced the FBI’s expanding role in tackling organized crime during the early twentieth century.
Later life and death
In 1945, Urschel and his wife relocated to San Antonio, Texas, where he oversaw operations at the Slick-Urschel Oil Company and contributed to establishing both the Southwest Research Institute and the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education. Although he suspected Kathryn Kelly as the mastermind behind his kidnapping, Urschel discreetly supported the college education of her daughter Pauline—a fact that came to light years later through author Stanley Hamilton.
Urschel passed away on September 26, 1970, four months after his wife Berenice.
See also
References
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Further reading
- Crimes' Paradise by E.E. Kirkpatrick, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, Texas, 1934
- Voices from Alcatraz; the authentic inside story of the Urschel kidnapping by E.E. Kirkpatrick, The Naylor Company, San Antonio, Texas, 1947
External links
- 1890 births
- 1970 deaths
- 20th-century American entrepreneurs
- American entrepreneurs in the petroleum sector
- Previously missing American individuals
- American kidnapping victims
- Entrepreneurs from Ohio
- Entrepreneurs based in Oklahoma City
- Residents of Hancock County, Ohio
- Kidnappings in the United States during the 1930s
- American businesspeople in the oil industry