The Big Tv

Originally Aired: March 2, 1954

Dragnet #237, "The Big Tv," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young mother named Harriet Shipley and her nine-month-old baby. Their inquiry begins at Harriet's apartment building, where they interview the embittered apartment manager, Mrs. Fleischer. She reveals a troubling history: Harriet's husband Elliott is stationed overseas in Japan, and in his absence, the lonely young woman became increasingly depressed. The situation grew dire when Harriet attempted suicide by cutting her wrists, only to be saved by Mrs. Fleischer's intervention. Rather than expressing gratitude, Harriet angrily rejected her neighbor's help, saying she should have been left alone.

The investigation deepens when Friday and Smith learn that Harriet vanished without warning shortly after returning from the hospital with her newborn baby, leaving behind only a few meager possessions. Most disturbing is the detail that before disappearing, Harriet had requested all the locks on her apartment be changed, suggesting she feared something or someone. With few leads beyond Harriet's former workplace, the Dream Palace dance hall, Friday and Smith must piece together what drove this troubled young mother to flee and where she might have taken her infant child.

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