A Henderson man named Paul Fronczak had no idea that his entire life would be turned upside down when he bought a home DNA test kit. The results of that test took away his name, his family, and everything he knew about his life to that point.
It also opened up a multi-layered rabbit hole involving an infamous kidnapping, police corruption, the mob, and dark secrets buried for six decades.
8 News Now chief investigator George Knapp has followed this very twisted tale for decades and pushed to get answers to mysteries long thought unsolvable.
Paul Fronczak’s quest started with a single objective: find a kidnapped baby
This then exploded into a Byzantine maze of twists and subplots, too improbable even for a true crime miniseries. In the 14 years since he first contacted us for help, he’s dug up solid answers, but each answer led to more head-spinning questions. He still uses the name Paul Fronczak, but after years of searching, he sometimes feels as if he’s been living someone else’s life.
The initial mystery started at a Chicago hospital in 1964. One day after the birth of Paul Fronczak, a woman dressed as a nurse kidnapped the baby and vanished. Police, the public, and the FBI conducted a massive manhunt. The story made international headlines, but the baby was gone.
Nearly two years later, an infant found abandoned on a sidewalk in New Jersey was presented by law enforcement to the brokenhearted Fronczak parents, who took one look and said that’s their missing boy.
The child grew up in a loving home but had nagging questions about why he looked so different from the rest of the Fronczak family.
Fast forward to 2012, the adopted Paul Fronczak was living in Henderson and, almost as a lark, took a DNA test along with his parents. The test showed he was not the Fronczaks’ son and was not the kidnapped baby.
So who was he, and what happened to his namesake? That was the start of his quest, despite the official investigation from the FBI ending decades ago.
Hellbound and Down 