June 17, 1931: Plan to Kidnap Dr. J. Elmer Porter Foiled

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

June 17, 1931: A plot to kidnap Dr. J. Elmer Porter, President of the Boyertown Gas and Fuel Company, has been foiled by the quick action of the police, who had learned from “an undisclosed source” that three men from Philadelphia intended to kidnap the doctor. They had rented a house in Honeybrook where they planned to keep him until ransom money was paid.

Dr. Porter got a phone call at 10:45 p.m. from a man saying his services were needed at 114 Manatawny Street in Pottstown. Having been alerted to the plot by the police, he notified them of the call, and two disguised officers hid in the tonneau (rear compartment) of his car. The others followed him in a separate car.

When the doctor arrived at the address, he was confronted by two of the kidnappers, who got into his car and instructed hm where to drive. They met up with the third man, at which time they were “cornered” by the officers.

In the third man’s car they found adhesive tape, a rubber hose, and a letter to Dr. Porter’s brother Samuel, demanding $15,000 ransom and giving full instructions as to where the money was to be paid. Their plot foiled, they surrendered without any resistance.

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