Bergdoll evaded authorities throughout the war, despite many reported sightings, and was finally apprehended in 1920. Police kicked down the door of his Wynnefield manse and — after battling with his revolver and blackjack-wielding mother — found the draft dodger hiding under the pillows of a window seat.

Amazingly, Bergdoll escaped his captors shortly thereafter. Spinning a tale of gold he buried in Maryland, he persuaded the police to let him out — under armed guard — to retrieve it. He gave them the slip, fleeing to Canada before boarding a ship for Europe.