Two Kidnaping Charges Filed Against Health Home Owner   Texarkana Gazette Thursday, August 10, 1950

Two charges of kidnaping were filed Tuesday against Mrs. Ruby Hightower, owner and operator of Hightower Health Home, 2100 West Fifteenth, in connection with concealing the whereabouts of two babies from their unwed mothers.    Both charges were filed by District Attorney Maxwell Welch after he talked to the two teen-age mothers.    The first charge was filed early Tuesday morning and Welch said the child, a boy, was reported taken at birth June 10, 1950 from a local hospital. He said Mrs. Hightower had refused to let the 16-year-old mother have the baby or tell her the whereabouts of the child.    The second charge was filed Tuesday afternoon. The circumstances in this case were similar.    The child involved in the second charge, also a boy, was reported to have been born on June 17, 1950.    Welch said the first charge was filed after he talked with the young mother and she told him that she went to Mrs. Hightower's establishment for the purpose of getting room and board during a three months confinement period.    He quoted her as saying she paid Mrs. Hightower $250 for her room and board.    Welch further quoted the young girl as saying she was taken to a Texarkana hospital for the delivery of the baby and then was taken back to the health home to recuperate.    He said the young mother told him she thought the baby was taken to the health home at the same time she left the hospital.    Welch said the young mother and her parents want the baby and have repeatedly asked Mrs. Hightower had refused to produce the baby or tell them where they could find him.

The spelling of kidnapping as "kidnaping" appears in the original article.

Email