Christine Collins’ Missing Son Case

In 1928 Los Angeles, a telephone operator named Christine Collins reported that her 9-year-old son, Walter Collins, had disappeared after leaving home to see a movie. Five months later, police reunited her with a boy from Illinois who claimed to be Walter, but Collins immediately insisted the child was an impostor and even produced dental records to prove it. Instead of reopening the investigation, police accused her of being unstable and had her involuntarily committed to a psychiatric ward under a “Code 12” order. The boy later admitted he was actually a runaway named Arthur Hutchens Jr., and the bizarre case later inspired the 2008 film Changeling starring Angelina Jolie.

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