Nell Donelly Reed

For nine days in December 1931, a sensational story gripped the front pages of The Kansas City Star and Times. Wealthy fashion designer and manufacturer Nell Donnelly and her chauffeur had been kidnapped on December 16. Less than two days later, both were released safe, due in part to the efforts of a former mayor and U.S. Senator, as well as an underworld crime boss. The manhunt for the perpetrators would continue into 1932. But it would take more than 70 years for all the details of the incident to become public. A reader recently tasked What’s Your KCQ? – a community reference partnership between the Kansas City Public Library and The Star – with recounting the events of the Nell Donnelly kidnapping. Here’s what we found.