In a chilling turn of events that shook the nation, the disappearance of four-year-old Charley Ross marked the first ransom kidnapping case in the United States. On July 1, 1874, Charley and his six-year-old brother Walter were lured into a horse-drawn buggy by two men offering candy and fireworks in their Philadelphia neighborhood.
While Walter was briefly sent into a store, the men drove off with Charley, sparking a harrowing ordeal for the Ross family. Despite receiving 23 ransom letters demanding $20,000, Charley's father, Christian Ross, was unable to meet the demands due to financial struggles caused by a stock market crash.
