Charles F. Urschel

Charles Frederick Urschel (March 7, 1890 – September 16, 1970) was a Texas oilman and kidnap victim of George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes.

Urschel eventually thwarted the crime by carefully noting every piece of evidence of his whereabouts during his captivity despite being blindfolded and leaving fingerprints on every surface he could reach. After being released after the ransom was delivered, Urschel was able to supply ample information for the FBI to solve the crime.

Charles F. Urschel was born in Washington Township, Hancock County, Ohio in 1890 to Daniel Urschel and Emma (Anna) M Bangert.

Urschel's first marriage was to Flored Slick the sister of Thomas Baker Slick, Sr., oil magnate known as "The King of the Wildcatters". Tom Slick died on August 16, 1930, from a massive stroke following surgery. After Flored's death in 1931, Charles Urschel, Tom Slick's brother-in-law and a trustee to his estate, then married Slick’s widow, Berenice. Their combined fortunes created one of the wealthiest couples in Oklahoma City.

On July 22, 1933, using his trademark machine gun, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, along with Albert L. Bates, interrupted a bridge game at Charles F. Urschel's residence in Oklahoma City, abducting Urschel and his guest Walter Jarrett at gunpoint while their wives helplessly watched. This began a startling kidnapping case that evoked the new Lindbergh kidnapping laws, led to twenty-one convictions, coined a new name for Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, and culminated in one of the first filmed trials.

After kidnapping Urschel, the criminals took him to a farmhouse in Paradise, Texas, and held him there for over a week. The kidnappers released him on July 30, after a representative for the family paid two hundred thousand dollars in documented bills. During his captivity, Urschel, although blindfolded most of the time, memorized many details about his location, including the passing of an airplane overhead at the same times every day. This and other information that the FBI had garnered helped locate the hideout.

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