Ransom

[mere]

Suppose the ransom demands were not crank calls. This could mean that the girls' abduction was premeditated. Are there any other known cases where the perpetrator stalked or pre-selected a child victim?

[Richard]

Suppose the ransom demands were not crank calls. This could mean that the girls' abduction was premeditated. Are there any other known cases where the perpetrator stalked or pre-selected a child victim?
Certainly there are some, although they are rare here in the US. Frank Sinatra's son was abducted and held for ransom back in the mid 1960's. Also, the Getty boy was abducted and his ear cut off before ransom was paid. There was also the abduction of the heir to the Coors Beer fortune. These were high visability crimes and they were aimed at people with a lot of money.

The Lyon girls were daughters of John and Mary Lyon, who were by most accounts your normal middle class family, who lived in a small house in a nice suburban neighborhood. John Lyon was an announcer on WMAL radio (AM 630 in Washington DC), so he was heard by many, but was not a big name "star". Probably as a result of his popularity and the fact that WMAL commanded such an audience (they also had connections with the papers and TV stations), this case got a LOT of press in the Washington Metropolitan area.

I do not have all of the information about each and every "ransom" call, but police were pretty quick to weed out what they felt were crank calls. Some were kids calling the Lyon home. There was one which they took seriously, and they played along. John Lyon spoke with the caller at least two separate times, and delivered a briefcase to the specified place, but no person came for it, and it became apparent for some reason that this too was a scam or crank caller.

Probably the reason for the crank calls was the fact that the case was so much in the news. If this had been a true case of abduction for ransom, the callers would probably have made contact much earlier - probably soon after the abduction took place, rather than waiting for the papers and media to pick up on the story.

[mere]

Thanks Richard for the additional information about the crank calls and cases of extortion. In my opinion I feel that TRM is the most likely scenario. Another scenario I have thought about would be that the abductor may have known the Lyon family and the abduction of the girls was some kind of revenge. I know that John Lyon has lived a fairly public life, being in radio and having his own band.Could it be possible that he made some sort of enemy? I just wonder being that this case has been open for over 30 years how many avenues the investigation has taken.

[Skipper]

Thanks Richard for the additional information about the crank calls and cases of extortion. In my opinion I feel that TRM is the most likely scenario. Another scenario I have thought about would be that the abductor may have known the Lyon family and the abduction of the girls was some kind of revenge. I know that John Lyon has lived a fairly public life, being in radio and having his own band.Could it be possible that he made some sort of enemy? I just wonder being that this case has been open for over 30 years how many avenues the investigation has taken.

Jergensen was his enemy. Jergensen ran an escort service in the Washington D.C. area which he started in 1975. He didn't like the way Lyon talked about prostitutes over the radio.

[Alice253]

Well, that's interesting about Jergensen. The ultimate revenge - kidnap the daughters (or have them kidnapped) and sell them into prostitution. Just a thought.

[Richard]

In a highly publicised child disappearance case, like that of the Lyon sisters, police ask for public assistance and tips. Along with the callers who actually have (or believe that they might have) information which helps provide clues, there are also other callers who simply want to express their sympathy, well wishes, or want to ask questions. At another level, are those people who make "crank calls" simply to harrass or bother either the police or the victims. Some of those crank callers might mention that they have the child and that they want some form of ransom to be paid. There are, of course, rare instances where a kidnapper actually does make a ransom demand.

It is of great importance to make proper decisions regarding any phone-in tips, so that clues are not missed. One example might be seen during the Montgomery County/DC Metro Sniper case, when one of the snipers actually called police with such a bizzare message that he was considered a "crank caller".

It would be interesting to know if any proven or confessed serial killers had also been "callers" to the police or families of their victims shortly after an abduction. Or specifically, in the case of the Lyon sisters, if something like that might have been a possibility. It is common for convicted criminals to try to contact victims or their families while they are in prison, or for them to play games with police. Could the abductor possibly have made crank calls to the Lyon family or to police in 1975?

[jttnewguy]

I'm a big Jon Douglas fan, and in one of his books, he discusses child kidnappings at length. The ransom demand is probably unrelated to the case because according to Douglas, generally speaking, there are three kinds of strangers who kidnap kids (not counting family abductions): sexual predators, childless people who can't adopt (and probably have some mental problems), and genuine ransom cases. The first two want nothing to do with the parents of the kids and will never communicate with them, and in the third case, the ransom demands will be very persistent because it's the money they want.And, as Thrasher points out in another thread in this section, it's unlikely that someone genuinely interested in collecting ransom would ask for it to be delivered to a courthouse bathroom, since there would be police everywhere and most courthouses are designed with limited escape routes.

[Richard]

I'm a big Jon Douglas fan, and in one of his books, he discusses child kidnappings at length. The ransom demand is probably unrelated to the case because according to Douglas, generally speaking, there are three kinds of strangers who kidnap kids (not counting family abductions): sexual predators, childless people who can't adopt (and probably have some mental problems), and genuine ransom cases. The first two want nothing to do with the parents of the kids and will never communicate with them, and in the third case, the ransom demands will be very persistent because it's the money they want.And, as Thrasher points out in another thread in this section, it's unlikely that someone genuinely interested in collecting ransom would ask for it to be delivered to a courthouse bathroom, since there would be police everywhere and most courthouses are designed with limited escape routes.
Welcome to the discussions. You make some very good observations and points.

I would tend to agree with you and Mr. Douglas overall, with the exception that there DO seem to be some perverts who actually enjoy taunting the families of their victims. And there are some abductors who enjoy visiting the scene of the crime, participate in searches, and even visit graves of their victims.

There are many more weirdos who like to "get into the act" after a publicized disappearance. These folks are the crank callers, providers of false leads, and those demanding "ransoms". I believe that one of the latter was responsible for the ransom calls to John Lyon. Police and Mr. Lyon played along with the caller and followed his directions regarding a drop place at the Ann Arundel County Courthouse (Annapolis, MD).

You are absolutely correct about police and security being present at all times in the courthouse. It was a dumb place to request for a ransom drop due to all the stated reasons, and John Lyon even said that to him when the ransom caller spoke with him by phone later that same day. Perhaps the ransom call was not actually meant to extract money, but rather a way of playing with the Lyon family. The Courthouse may have been simply a place near where the caller worked - a place where he could watch the excitement.

After John Lyon's last conversation with him, the "Ransom Caller" never again attempted any contact. It would be interesting to know if any tape recordings were made of those conversations, or if the calls were traced in any way.

[Thrasher]

I believe that the Annapolis incident was nothing more than a desparate hope.
No one has posted for a while, so I will offer this comment:

As I pointed out before, the Lyons did not have the resources to pay the ransom demanded, and he didn't have anywhere near that amount when he went to Annapolis. I talked to John about it once and I don't think he was hopeful, but at the time there were no other good leads and it was worth a try. It is hard to know whether the caller actually was trying to pick up the ransom money, but if he had any intelligence at all he had to know that Montgomery County Police would be there, in addition to all the police officers and marshalls who would be at the courthouse at any time. I don't think John felt there was any risk in getting angry at the caller, because he was convinced it was a hoax.

Once again - for a kidnapper to make money, the best strategy would be to (1) abduct one child, (2) from a wealthy family, (3) at an isolated location, (4) call for ransom immediately, and (5) arrange the drop at an isolated location. This caller missed on all five, and the few other ransom attempts missed on at least three.

[Richard]

I believe that the Annapolis incident was nothing more than a desparate hope. ... I don't think John felt there was any risk in getting angry at the caller, because he was convinced it was a hoax. ...
I agree with your assessment of this Ransom story, in that it was most likely a hoax. With no solid information or evidence, the Ransom call was checked into, and police and family played along. It was not the police or the family that released the news of the call and ransom drop, but rather a news reporter who first broke the story, some days after it all took place. Since there had been no further contact with the caller at that point, the police went ahead and confirmed the details of the operation.

Regarding the amount of money left in the briefcase at the Court House lavatory: Although the caller demanded $10,000, it was decided that $100 in marked bills would be in the briefcase, along with a lot of blank paper. The amount was chosen for legal reasons, as there was a law which stated that it would be a more serious crime if the amount was $100 or more. It was clearly the intent of the police to make an arrest immediately after the pick-up.

No details regarding the actual kidnapping or the girls were ever given by the caller to confirm that he actually had them, or that he had any first hand knowledge of them.

[Richard]

Although most investigators and observers of the Lyon Case tend to think that the various ransom calls and in particular the one calling for Ten Thousand Dollars to be left in the Anne Arundel County Courthouse, were either hoaxes or extortion plots, it should be remembered that they are still Unsolved Cold Cases as well. Nobody was ever identified, arrested, or charged with committing those offenses.

Following the Court House stake-out, the Ransom Caller made one last phone call to John Lyon, complaining that there were too many police around for him to get the money. He said that he would call back with further instructions, but never did.

This story was soon forgotten when news of the possible sighting of the girls, bound and gagged in the back of a tan 1968 Ford Station Wagon broke.