Mysteries of the missingSmith, Edward H. (Edward Henry)
History
Mysteries of the missing
Smith, Edward H. (Edward Henry)
Biography; Kidnapping; Missing persons
Thus trussed up and prevented from either seeing where he was being
taken, or making any outcry, the young fellow was driven about for an
hour, and finally delivered to an old house, which he believed to be
unfurnished, judging from the hollow sound of the footsteps, as he
and his captors were going up the stairs. He was taken into a room on
the second floor, seated in a chair, and handcuffed to it. His gag
was removed, but not the bandage on his eyes. He was supplied with
cigarettes and offered food, but he could not eat. One of the two men
stood guard, the other departing at once, but returning later on.
All that night and the next day the boy was unable to sleep. But
he sensed that his captor seemed to be imbibing whisky with great
regularity. Finally, about an hour before he had been set free, Eddie
heard the other man return and hold a whispered conversation with his
guard. The boy was then taken from the house, put back into the same
buggy, driven to within a quarter of a mile of his father’s home, and
released. He ran for home, and his captors drove off.
Eddie Cudahy could not give any working description of the criminals.
He had not got a good look at them in the street when they seized him,
because it was dark, and they had the brims of their large hats pulled
down over their eyes. Immediately afterward he had been bandaged and
deprived of all further chance of observation. One man was tall, and
the other short. The tall man seemed to be in command. The short man
had been his guard. He thought there was a third man who was bringing
in reports.
There were just two dimly promising lines of investigation. First, it
would surely be possible to find the house in which the boy had been
held captive, for Omaha was not so large that there were many empty
houses to suit the description furnished by the boy. Besides, the time
at which any such house had been rented would offer evidence. It might
be possible to get a clew to the identity of the kidnappers through the
description of the person or persons who had done the renting.
Second, the kidnappers must have got the horse and buggy somewhere;
most likely from a local livery stable. If its source could be found,
the liveryman also would be able to describe the persons with whom he
had done business.
So the police set to work, searching the town again for house and for
stable. They found several deserted two-story cottages that fitted the
picture well enough, and in each instance there were circumstances
which seemed to indicate that the kidnappers had been there. Finally,
however, all were eliminated, except a crude two-story cabin at 3604
Grover Street. This turned out to be the place, situated near the
outskirts, on the top of a hill, with the nearest neighbors a block
away. Cigarette ends, burned matches, empty whisky bottles, and windows
covered with newspapers gave silent, but conclusive, testimony.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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