Editor’s note: The final story today is a bit gruesome and graphic — perhaps more than a bit. We don’t recommend reading it while eating or immediately after.
A string of home burglaries was keeping law enforcement frustrated, mostly because there was no detective on the force to investigate.
From The Arizona Daily Star, Wednesday, August 2, 1916:
More Homes Entered By Unknown Burglar
Lack of Detecting Facilities Makes Crime Perfectly Safe
The home of Harry Cooper, 120 Washington street, was entered by an unknown burglar who effected an entrance by means of the bathroom window. A gold watch, a $5 gold piece, the Espee traffic office keys of Mr. Cooper’s, and a pair of new blue trousers and 400 cigars were the loot taken.
The burglar made his visit about 12:30 o’clock. More plunder might have been taken but Mr. and Mrs. Cooper were roused and the burglar was frightened away.
The home of Sara Hughes directly opposite was also entered and five suits of clothes belonging to Bob Squires were taken. A new suit case and from $4 to $6 in silver was also taken.
It is believed by officers that the robberies have all been committed by one or two men. The fact that there is no detective at present on the force makes it very hard to do anything on the case. Sheriff Forbes’ deputies are watching the city for suspicious characters.
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What, exactly, does a "suspicious character" look like?
It was reported the same day that a miner was missing in the desert. It had been long enough that it was doubtful he was alive, but of course, people looked for him nonetheless.
FEAR MINING MAN PERISHED ON THE DESERT
John Schner Disappeared Over Ten Days Ago and Searching Parties Fail to Find Trace of Him; Search Continues
More than ten days ago, a mining man whose name was said to be John Schner, disappeared while on a protecting trip beyond Sasco, near the Pima-Pinal line, and Sheriff Forbes yesterday expressed the belief that, since all efforts to locate the man had failed, Schner wandered into the desert and perished.
The sheriff yesterday tried to verify the correctness of the name, Schner, given by a Mexican who accompanied the mining man on the prospecting trip. He is said to be fairly well known among mining men, particularly in Mexico, where he spent most of his time.
Sheriff Forbes also communicated with Sheriff Hall of Pinal county, asking that a search be made in that county, it being thought possible that the man had wandered into that county. The sheriff admitted that, so much time having elapsed without the man making his whereabouts known, he feared Schner had died on the desert.
Schooner, which was the way his Mexican companion spelled the American’s name, left from the ranch of E. Aguirre, below Sasco, over town days ago for the purpose of inspecting a mining claim near the Pima-Pinal line. According to the story the Mexican told upon returning to Aguirre’s ranch, he left Schner in search of a water hole and when he returned to the spot where they had parted, the American had disappeared, taking with him a hand grip and other personal belongings.
Schner and the Mexican, whose name is Alejandro Palma, when they left Aguirre’s ranch, went toward a place where they thought they would find water but apparently took the wrong direction and missed it, so Schner directed Palma to take the team which they were driving, to another place, where Schner thought water would be found. Palma did as he was directed and located water, but when he returned to the place where he had left Schner the latter had disappeared.
Palma returned to Aguirre’s ranch after failing to find Schner and from that place several searching parties were sent out and the entire vicinity scoured, but without finding trace of the missing man.
When all efforts failed, Aguirre reported the man’s disappearance to Sheriff Forbes, who has now taken up the search.
The name of the missing man was corrected in the follow-up story the next day. Read tomorrow for more.
Now for the more difficult story of the day:
NO OWNER FOUND FOR HUMAN HAND TAKEN FROM CAR
Arrival of Body of Construction Foreman from Lordsburg, Will Clear Up Mystery; Hand Resembles a Woman’s
When Inspector Cull, at Benson, early yesterday morning, flashed his light on the forward trucks of the baggage car of Southern Pacific train No. 101, westbound, a human had was thrust from under the car. Up to midnight last night the combined efforts of Coroner Comstock and Southern Pacific officers have been unable to find the owner of the hand or the identity of the owner.
As the gruesome evidence of a tragedy, Coroner Comstock is holding his his possession, contained in a bucket, the right hand and forward of a human being, and the skin from the right side of a torso, from the thigh to the top of the head. A portion of the scalp, covered by sandy-colored hair, and the right ear, stripped from the skull, may aid in identifying the owner of the remnants of a human being.
That the original owner of tis hand, forearm, and ear was a woman, was the belief of the coroner after he had examined the bits of flesh, and the county physician, Dr. Pratt, agreed that the hand resembled that of a woman. the fact that the skin from the palm of the right had bore no callouses seemed to support this theory.
After the Southern Pacific train crew at Benson had responded to Inspector Cull’s alarm, and removed the human fragments from the truck of the baggage car, and brought them to Tucson in a bucket to turn them over to Coroner Comstock, it was learned that Grading Foreman Johnson, of the Pacheco Construction company, had been killed early yesterday morning at Mongolia, a short distance this side of Lordsburg, and it was thought that the hand and other human debris recovered might be from his body, but last evening Coroner Comstock expressed the belief that there had been two tragedies and the fragments of flesh in his possession were from the body not yet found.
Whether or not this is true, will be learned when the body of Johnson arrived in Tucson. The coroner was informed last evening that the remains of Johnson had been forwarded to Tucson but at midnight he had not been advised as to when they would arrive.
P. J. Smith, who knew Johnson, told the coroner that he was confident the had and other fragments were not from the body of Johnson. On the other hand, J. M. Pacheco, the employer of Johnson, when shown hair scraped from the trucks of the car from which the hand and skin were taken, unhesitatingly declared that they were from the body of his employee.
Southern Pacific Special Officer Kelly left late yesterday morning for Lordsburg to investigate but he had not been heard from last evening.
The theory was expressed by officers yesterday that an eastbound train had run over a man and that the body was picked up from the track by the westbound passenger train and drug along the track, wrenching the right hand and forearm from the body and tearing the skin from the body. Attached to the skin from the right side was a piece of rib.
The fact that the flesh fragments were not discovered when the passenger train was inspected at Bowie yesterday morning, it is pointed out, does not fit in with the theory that the fragments belong to the body of Johnson, who was killed in New Mexico. On the other hand, no trace of the body of a second victim was found on the Southern Pacific right-of-way.
Coroner Comstock said last night that the arrival of Johnson’s body would clear up the mystery. If the right hand and other parts of the body were missing and if they correspond with the ones found, it will have been proven that they are from Johnson’s body, but last night there were a number of indications that there had been two fatal accidents on the right-of-way.
Johnson had been an employe of Pacheco for several years and was regarded as an industrious and capable man. He has a sister at Minneapolis and no arrangements for Johnson’s funeral will be made until she has been heard from.
A follow-up article appeared the next day, and it also appears her tomorrow.
