Roy Abagnale, Frank Abagnale’s older brother, used multiple aliases, faked his career as a therapist, and was even accused of kidnapping a 7-year-old girl.
The kidnapping is described in a 1968 Jackson, Michigan newspaper. According to the report, Abagnale traveled with the child to California. The girl’s father believed Abagnale was taking her to New York for treatment. So why did Abagnale drive her to the opposite end of the country?
Unfortunately, the article doesn’t clarify how long the girl was missing. Additionally, Abagnale was eventually charged with credit card forgery and illegal conversion of a vehicle which is another way of saying he didn’t return a rental car.
Help us solve this mystery.
Roy Abagnale went by the following pseudonyms: Eugene Abaglane, Jean-Paul Abagnale, and Jean Francis Abagnale, just to name a few. He may have lived in Michigan from 1960-1965. If you know anyone who went by these names, please contact us.
Roy Abagnale passed away in 2015. His daughter Heather has been trying to put the pieces together ever since. She had no idea that the father who raised her was an imposter. It wasn’t until the release of Alan Logan’s book titled The Greatest Hoax on Earth that she discovered the story about the kidnapped girl. Since then, Heather has reached out to Alan Logan and me to help her solve her family mystery.
The Abagnale brothers
Perhaps the greatest mystery is how Frank Abagnale and his older brother Roy followed similar paths. First, both men assumed other identities. Then, for reasons unknown, they were drawn to disadvantaged children. There’s only one main difference between the two brothers. Frank Abagnale chose to flaunt his grift, while Roy preferred to live under the radar.
Let’s not forget that Roy Abagnale was Heather’s father. She loved him. And Heather’s in the middle of figuring this whole thing out. She sent me this message after one of our chats.
“Something I forgot to tell you is when my dad got really sick, right before he died, he became obsessed with the idea of karma and talked about it all the time, like maybe he was sick due to karma or something. I thought it was so weird because I couldn’t figure out what kind of bad karma he was referring to. It’s really what prompted me to explore more because it seemed so weird and out of step with the man I knew. Just figured I’d mention that…, something was tormenting him- in the end.”
What was tormenting Roy Abagnale? Does Frank Abagnale have similar ghosts?