Eddie Cudahy and Pat Crowe

Snatched in Omaha

Bundled up against the Christmas cold, Eddie Cudahy quick-stepped out of his family's mansion in Omaha's Gold Coast neighborhood to run an errand just after dark on Dec. 18, 1900.

Cudahy residence

Accompanied by his collie dog, he hurried three doors down Farnam Street to the home of Dr. Fred Rustin. He stepped inside and returned a bundle of books and magazines the Cudahys had borrowed.

As he turned toward home, Eddie, 16, did not notice the rented horse and tawdry buggy that had been lurking in the vicinity for several hours. Two men of questionable reputation sat in the buggy, observing the Cudahy comings-and-goings through a spyglass, waiting for the right opportunity.

That opportunity had arrived.

As Eddie walked home, the buggy pulled alongside him.

The driver, a striking man in his 30s, leaped out and stopped the teenager.

"Now we've got you, Eddie McGee," the man said.

Young Cudahy tried to identify himself, but the man would not let him speak.

He continued, "I am sheriff of Sarpy County, and I arrest you. You stole $500 from your aunt and have just escaped from reform school."

Cudahy pointed toward his family's 22-room home and protested, "But I'm Eddie Cudahy, and I live in that house right over there."

"That game won't work," replied the man. He said he would take Cudahy into custody but would release him if he could prove the misidentification.

Cudahy relented and climbed aboard the buggy.

He noticed that the second man in the carriage heaved a heavy stick into the Cudahy yard as the buggy passed. They whipped the horse into a trot.