The Big Grab: A False Badge and a Fatal Plan

Originally Aired: June 29, 1950

The Big Grab: A False Badge and a Fatal Plan

In this intense episode of Dragnet, Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Ben Romero are assigned to the homicide detail after Ruth Kessel, wife of a well-known college professor, is abducted from her home by a man posing as a police officer. What begins as a missing person case quickly escalates into a city-wide manhunt and a race against the clock to save an innocent woman's life.

The kidnapper, posing as a plainclothes detective, tricks Mrs. Kessel into leaving her home under the pretense that her husband has been injured. Soon after, a chilling ransom note arrives demanding $30,000 or she will be killed. As Friday and Romero work tirelessly to find the man behind the note, every wrong move could push the abductor to follow through on his threats.

With the help of stakeouts, forensic analysis, and old-fashioned door-to-door legwork, the trail eventually leads to a suspicious man renting a cottage under the name "Thompson." A break comes when Mrs. Kessel is unexpectedly released—shaken, but alive—and further investigation reveals the real identity of her abductor: Charles Cottrell.

What follows is a quiet takedown at Cottrell’s home, where his wife pleads for understanding, and Cottrell himself is left wondering where he went wrong. The answer, Friday tells him, is simple: when he thought of it.

A classic Dragnet story of deception, pressure, and precise police work, The Big Grab is a haunting look at how a single false move can unravel lives.

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Cast: Jack Webb (Joe Friday), Barton Yarborough (Ben Romero), with supporting performances by Harry Bartell, Raymond Burr, and Peggy Webber.

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