 But that is not the end of the story. Black and white street diplomats, many of whom acted as agents and conductors of the Underground Railroad, convinced Pennsylvania officials to press charges against Albertian Price for kidnapping Joel, but not his mother. You might ask, why weren't they charged for kidnapping Catherine Thompson? Here's the tragic answer. Catherine Thompson was a runaway, and therefore the slave catchers were within their legal rights to bring her back to her enslaver.