PAUL FRONCZAK - Newborn - (1964) - Chicago, IL

FBI re-opens 1964 stolen baby case after DNA proves wrong child was returned


Facebook.com/WhoIsPaulFronczak

A Facebook page has been set up to try to discover the fate of Paul Fronczak, a baby stolen in 1964, and the real identity of the child given to his parents in 1965 in the mistaken belief it was their son.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

An investigation into a stolen baby has been re-opened after DNA evidence showed someone else's child was returned to the missing infant’s parents nearly 50 years ago.

The FBI told Chicago newspapers that they were re-investigating the case of Paul Fronczak, who was taken as a newborn from the city’s Michael Reese Hospital in 1964.

A year later, federal investigators became convinced that a toddler found abandoned in Newark, New Jersey, was Paul and the child was given to Chester and Dora Fronczak, who raised him as their own.

The identification was based in part on the shape of the child’s ear, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.

However, the man named Paul Fronczak, now 49 and living in Nevada, revealed earlier this year that a DNA test had showed he was not their biological son, the paper said.

He has now been trying to find out who he actually is and what happened to the real Paul Fronczak.

“I am very happy to see the FBI reopen the case, thanks to my ruffling the media’s feathers!” he said in an email to the Sun-Times Wednesday.

“I feel I am one step closer to solving these two tragic mysteries, and one step closer to a very happy ending!”

A Facebook page called “Who is Paul Fronczak?” says “Imagine waking up one day to find out that the identity you've had your entire life isn't true, that the family who raised you isn't really your family at all, and that you don't even know your real name.”
In a video posted on the page, Fronczak read an email he sent to his parents -- addressing them as “dear mom and dad” -- in which he revealed the DNA tests had showed he was not their biological son.

“First, I am your son and always will be,” he said.

But Fronczak said he did not “really know who I am” and that the real Fronczak “might still be out there.”
“I know this is hard for you,” he said. “I love you both and you have been wonderful parents. I am not doing this to hurt you … this is just about finding the truth.”

Fronczak told the Chicago Tribune that his parents supported his attempts to find his true identity.

“I’m in this for the long haul. I’m not going to quit,” he said. “I think that the perfect ending would be to find the real Paul, see that he’s doing well and then on the same day find my real family. It would also be nice to have an actual birth date that I could believe in.”

Joan Hyde, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Chicago, confirmed to the Sun-Times and the Tribune that the case had been re-opened.

She told the Tribune that they had had a “lucky break” when they discovered the original files on the case.

“It was deemed appropriate to take a fresh look at the evidence that we have and possibly re-interview sources that are still around,” she added.

This story was originally published on Thu Aug 8, 2013 5:03 AM EDT

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/us-news/item/515856-64-stolen-baby-case-re-opened

What an intriguing story Twink! I was curious about why this man got a DNA test in the first place and found this additional information. Also I wonder if his "parents" wondered through the years if this was really their kidnapped baby?

"NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Imagine not knowing your real name, or who your birth parents are, or even your age. For one man, this is reality.

Paul Fronczak has had two names during his life, neither is his own.

“I don’t know why, but it really started consuming my thoughts, like ‘who am I?’” he told CBS 2 investigative reporter Tamara Leitner.

The mystery began at the since-demolished Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago in 1964. Chester and Dora Fronczak had given birth to a baby boy named Paul Joseph Fronczak.

“Sixteen hours later the nurse comes in — someone dressed like a nurse — and tells my mom, well, tells Mrs. Fronczak, that the doctor needs to see the baby,” Paul explained.

The woman walked out the back door of the hospital with the baby in her arms. A nationwide manhunt ensued, and the FBI looked at 10,000 different children.

Two-and-a-half years passed before a baby was found abandoned in a stroller on a Newark, N.J., street corner. The child was taken to an orphanage and given the name Scott McKinley. Eventually the FBI came in and made a decision that would impact a number of lives.

“The FBI decided that because my ears matched the Fronczak baby, that I was probably the Fronczak baby,” Paul said.

Because the Fronczaks didn’t have proof that Paul was their child, they had to adopt him. Years passed by and the kidnapping and the adoption were never mentioned in the Fronczak home.

“I found a box of these newspaper clippings. Headlines. It was all about me, I was kidnapped,” Paul explained.

Fronczak confronted his parents, but they divulged very few details.

“It was like, ‘you don’t need to see that; you are our son,’” he said.

As Fronczak got older he began to wonder why he didn’t look like his Polish and Croatian parents. Eventually, he moved to Henderson, Nev., got married, and decided that he needed to know the truth.

A series of DNA tests revealed that he was not the Fronczak baby. Everything that Paul once thought to be true, was not.

After receiving the test results he wrote a letter to his parents and tried to explain the unexplainable.

“They will always be my parents. Great people. Raised me the way I am today,” he said.

But, questions remain. Why did Paul’s parents abandon him on a Newark street, and what happened to the real Paul Fronczak?

“I just think it would be really cool, if we actually found the real kidnapped baby. It would be nice to have a happy ending for once,” he said.

Fronczak hopes that the DNA tests will help him find his real biological family."

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/05/31/cbs-2-investigation-dna-test-reveals-nevada-man-is-not-who-he-thought-he-was/

Thanks Ladibug.

It is really intriguing.  I hope he can find his true identity.

So many cases, very old cases are being solved these days.  I always think of the people who have died without knowing the outcome. 

I'll be watching this for sure.

Did you see "The Changling"?  It starred Angelina Jolie.  A boy was kidnapped and the authorities gave her another boy who wasn't her son.  They put her in a mental hospital when she claimed he wasn't her son.  Based on a true story with a gruesome ending.