Though Adolph Coors III had reportedly spotted a canary yellow Mercury lurking near his house, he nevertheless stopped when he saw the same car apparently experiencing mechanical failure on a nearby bridge. The breakdown was part of a ploy to kidnap Coors.
Fred Burton's recent interview with the author Philip Jett inspired me. Their discussion of Jett's recent book, The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty , compelled me to read it for myself. Meticulously chronicling the crime, and the preparation the perpetrator conducted in advance, the book makes for a fascinating read. And although the incident it details — Adolph Coors III's tragic death during a botched kidnapping — happened more than 50 years ago, the story offers valuable lessons for personal security that ring true still today. Facing Danger Head-On Perhaps the first thing that jumped out at me as I read Jett's book was the Coors family's apparent obliviousness to the potential risks to their safety. A healthy security mindset depends on recognizing the existence of threats, accepting responsibility for one's personal safety and taking action to ensure it.
