Authorities Release Age Progression Image Of Paul Fronczak

CHICAGO (STMW) -- An age progression image of a baby who was kidnapped nearly 50 years ago from a Chicago hospital has been released in the hope of finding the real Paul Fronczak.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released the image Tuesday of what Fronczak would look like now, at age 49.

The Fronczak case was front-page news in the city and beyond, when a woman — disguised as a nurse — walked into Michael Reese on April 27, 1964, and told Dora Fronczak that her newborn was needed for an examination. The woman took the baby, got in a taxi and the two were never seen again.

Hundreds of Chicago police officers and FBI agents took part in a massive search. In July 1965, an abandoned boy resembling the missing baby turned up in Newark, N.J. Without DNA or fingerprints, there was no proof it was Chester and Dora Fronczak's infant, but they clung to that belief because investigators suggested the child was likely theirs. The Fronczaks raised that child in their home in Oak Lawn.

The tragic story made headlines earlier this year when a now middle-aged Paul Fronczak, who lives in Nevada, revealed the results of DNA testing showing he isn't Chester and Dora Fronczak's son. Ever since, Paul Fronczak has been on a mission to find out his true identity and find the real Paul Fronczak.

"I am very happy to see the FBI reopen the case, thanks to my ruffling the media's feathers!" Paul Fronczak said in an email when the FBI opened their investigation. "I feel I am one step closer to solving these two tragic mysteries, and one step closer to a very happy ending!"

Still, Fronczak knows that his search is painful for his adoptive parents. In a brief interview in June, Dora Fronczak told the Chicago Sun-Times they don't want to re-live the past. And on Wednesday, Chester Fronczak told a reporter he wasn't interested in chatting.

Yet, the Fronczaks' help may prove vital in learning the truth. Investigators have obtained DNA samples from Dora and Chester Fronczak to run through their database in search of a possible match, the FBI said.

Anyone wtih information should contact the FBI at (312) 421-6700 or The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)