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Man Who Believed He Was Kidnapped As A Baby Finds Out He Was Given To The Wrong Parents

Man Who Believed He Was Kidnapped As A Baby Finds Out He Was Given To The Wrong Parents

He grew up thinking he had been kidnapped as a baby, only to be reunited with his parents two years later - that turned out to be wrong

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A man who grew up thinking he had been kidnapped as a baby and then returned to his parents two years later has found out he's not their son.

Paul Fronczak was raised in Chicago, believing Dora and Chester were his parents.

When he was 10 years old, he found some old newspaper clippings in which it was claimed that he had been kidnapped from a hospital by a woman dressed as a nurse.

Paul Fronczak grew up thinking he was kidnapped as a baby.
Getty

Showing the clippings to his parents, Paul was told that he was snatched back in April 1964 causing a massive search, with more than 200 police officers and 175,000 postal workers trying to find the missing tot.

Dora and Chester told Paul that two years later a little boy matching his description was found in New Jersey and was handed back to them.

However, as it was during the 1960s, identification techniques weren't up to much and there was no way for the FBI to categorically state that the boy was indeed Paul.

As he grew older, Paul began to suspect that there may be more to the story.

He explained: "As I got older the questions in my head became more and more - I began to question if I was mum and dad's.

"I just didn't look like my family or share the same interest as my brother Dave. I loved rock music, motorbikes and my hair long - a complete opposite to him."

Dora and Chester Fronczak had their son snatched from hospital by a woman dressed as a nurse.
Shutterstock

Eventually, Paul went on to have his own family and it was while his partner was pregnant that he was asked about his family medical history, which prompted to him to dig a little deeper into his past.

He convinced Dora and Chester to give samples for a DNA test and it was found that they were not related.

Determined to find out more, he hired a private detective who discovered that he was actually born Jack Rosenthal and is six months older than he had thought. It's believed that he and his siblings had been neglected by their parents.

He has since vowed to find the real Paul Fronczak as well as track down his own siblings.


Speaking to the BBC, Paul explained he doesn't plan to change his name to Jack, saying: "I'm going to stay Paul until they find Paul. The day I find Paul, I'm going to hand him his birth certificate, and I'm going to claim mine."

His incredible story was also turned into a book and is now set to become a film.

Featured Image Credit: CBS

Topics: Interesting, US News