He was forced to write a letter to his brother Hugh, telling him to go to the Royal York Hotel in Toronto to await further instructions.
[4] The kidnappers were Michael Francis McCardell (known as Three-Fingered Abe), Jack Bannon, Albert Pegram and Russell Knowles.
Hugh proceeded to the Royal York Hotel and began gathering money to pay the ransom.
This caused the kidnappers to panic, and they decided to release Labatt; he was unchained from the bed after three days of captivity.
It took some moments for the gathered crowd of reporters to realize who had just walked in the door, but when it was revealed, pandemonium erupted.