As hard as the police and FBI try to solve every case, it’s impossible not to make mistakes from time to time. They’re only human, and sometimes there are so many moving parts it’s difficult to find the answer.
When a one-day-old baby was stolen out of a hospital in Chicago, police and the FBI went on a manhunt to locate him. Then, two years later, they miraculously found him and returned him to his parents. However, not all was as it seemed…
In Chicago, 1964, Paul Fronczak was only one day old when he was stolen from the Michael Reese Hospital by a woman posing as a nurse. Paul’s mother, Dora, handed her newborn son off to the woman, and she left the room, never to return.
Immediately, a citywide manhunt was launched. About 175,000 postal workers, 200 police officers, and the entire FBI scoured every inch of Chicago, but Paul was nowhere to be found. Would Dora and her husband, Chester, ever see Paul again?
The worried parents tried to wait patiently for some kind of break in the case, but to their dismay, it seemed like Paul was gone for good. But, two years after the horrific kidnapping, the Fronczaks received a call…
It was the FBI, and they told Paul’s parents they located a boy in Newark, New Jersey who matched their son’s description! Dora and Chester were elated, but, was it too good to be true? Had they really found Paul after all this time?
Dora and Chester drove from Chicago to Newark to finally reunite with their son who was now a toddler. No one, including the FBI, could believe the stroke of luck. However, this was far from the end of Paul’s journey.
As Paul grew up, he learned about the whole kidnapping ordeal that occurred when he was a newborn. It was then that he started having some questions of his own…
You see, ever since he was returned to his parents, Paul hadn’t been able to shake the story of his past. It made him feel like an outsider, even within his own family unit.
To compensate for these feelings Paul became super outgoing, listened to loud music, and started cruising on motorcycles. He was just trying to find himself, but this made him feel like even more of an outcast.
A voice inside Paul wouldn’t be silenced. He couldn’t help it, he knew something wasn’t right in his life and he believed it all connected to his kidnapping. For one thing, he couldn’t understand why he had been found so far from Chicago…
Paul knew that unearthing the details surrounding his kidnapping would be stressful to his parents, but he also knew that doing some digging might help him feel more at home in the world. As an adult, Paul finally decided to face his fears and truly investigate his past.
One afternoon in 2012 while his parents were visiting, Paul asked them to do a DNA swab test. He figured it would be best make sure that he really was who he thought he was. He sent out the samples, and several days later received the results via phone…
The person on the other end of the line told Paul there was “no remote possibility” he was Dora and Chester’s biological son! His world was just turned upside down, and he had no idea how to fix it.
Who were his real parents if not Dora and Chester? Also, what happened to the real Paul Fronczak? Shocked themselves, the people Paul called his parents stood by his side in the face of this news. They helped Paul find a team of volunteers to help him get more answers.
These “DNA Detectives” started a deep dive into Paul’s history, and traced his roots to Tennessee, where he was born into a Jewish family. Paul also learned his birth name was Jack Rosenthal. Now that he had a solid foundation, it was time to meet some relatives.
When Paul finally met one cousin Lenny, they immediately connected. Paul finally felt like he was with family. However, as great as Lenny was, Paul also learned about a dark side of his biological relatives…
Paul’s mother was an alcoholic and his father had severe anger problems. He also had a twin sister and siblings, but according to his family, the kids were all badly neglected. Paul had a strong suspicion something sinister may have happened to his twin sister, Jill, and that’s why his parents gave him up.
Paul wrote a book about his entire journey working towards the truth called The Foundling. In it, he even talked about how he went to his parent’s old home and dug up the garden, hoping to find the remains of his sister. However, he had no such luck.
After his book came out, Paul began giving interviews to people who wanted to know his whole bizarre story. His life had so many twists and turns, but Paul had at least uncovered some of the truth. But, his search is far from over…
To this day, Paul is still on the hunt for the actual Paul Fronczak who was abducted from his adopted parents. He is determined to give closure to a case that’s been following him ever since he was a toddler.
It was truly amazing that the DNA Detectives were able to shed so much light on a life Paul Fronczak knew absolutely nothing about. Hopefully, he eventually finds closure for everything that’s happened.
If the real Paul Fronczak is still out there somewhere, here’s hoping he is one day found.
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