The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-02-16

him outside the dOrO. A second man was waiting there. Together they took me up the hill to the road where a Packard limousine was waiting.
 "They threw me into the back seat and the two men got in. one on each side of me. A third man was at the wheel.
 "They> drove for about an hour, with the curtains pulled down. Then they stopped. The man at my right, called Curly took out some sandwiches and beer and made me eat them at gun point"
 Almost immediately went sound asleep. The food must have been drugged.
 "I came to in a large room in some city. Eight toughs were in the room. One held revolver at my head and told me to write a let- ter to my family, asking for $1.000 ransom. (.rhis letter was received last Saturday by Augustus Blag- den. a brother.)
 T wrote the letter. l went dead to the world for what must have been about 8 day and a half.
 Barely conscious, was hauled into the automobile and taken to another city, which I thought was Albany. The car was abandoned and I was loaded into a closed truck.
 "They took me to farm house where I was held for quite a while. There they shaved off my mous- tache. Finally they made me eat some doped food again.
 II was thrown into the delivery truck and driven around. Curly was always in the back of the truck with me as a guard. Finally we got to city which later learned was Cleveland.
 "'Curly' stayed in the truck with me. The other two. Jim and :Zeke,' went into restaurant to eat.
 T pretended to fall asleep and leaned over onto Curly I guess I fooled him for he got careless with his gun and put it into his pocket. Then I jumped on to him and gave him a couple of hard rights in his stomach. They just about knocked him out. l grabbed the gun out of his pocket and hit him over the head with 1t about eight or ten times.
 "Almost immediately I went sound asleep. The food must have been drugged.
 After recovering I found the door of the truck was bolted l lunged against 1t with all my strength and broke the lock Then I ran to beat hell as far as l could.
 "Finally when all my wind was gone, I met a fellow on the street and asked him what town 1t was He said 'Cleveland.' remembered my friend Claude Peck, and asked how to get out to his place.
 "I started walking for I didn't have a cent in my pockets. Final ly after g. long walk, which just about tired me out, got to the address (2589 Bershire road, Cleveland Helshts) and rang the bell.
 "Peck opened the door and l
 Peck at once called the police and a doctor. BIagden would not talk to re- porters, but told his story to the police.
 Blagden had been missing five days. State troopers and friends made a wide search of the Adiron- dack region where he disappeared He was known to have been in the Lake Placid section to attend the winter olympic games with the Ronald Harrlmans and Knight Wooley of New York. Blagden, president of & sport. ing goods store at Saranac Lake N. Y. also maintains homes in Philadelphia and New York city.
 Thomas and Augustus Blagden his brothers, and Thomas, Sr, his 77-year-old father, were at saranac Lake yesterday, discussing a re- ward for the missing man. His brother, Thomas, Jr, an nounced last night before Blagder was found that he did not believe Blagden had been held by kidnap. CTS.
 He also denied reports that his brother had suffered a nervous breakdown before his disappear. ance, and that he incurred a head injury in an automobile accident two years ago that might have caused him to disappear.
 My brother was in wonderful financial and physical condition,' he asserted.