The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-05-02
THE coRoNER's INQUEST.
TH1E WOMAN PECMPOCAET ON
THE SARATOGA RAILROAD
How she Was Gapturcd--~AD CID
ruand al the business.

The Whitehall Times gives the following
particulars of the woman railroad pick
pocket, who, for the past few months has
been operating on the Rensselaer, and Sara
toga railroad Rutland and Washington and
Albany and schenectady divisions of the
Delaware and Hudson canal company,
whom the conductors have observed travel
ing over their routes:
"Thc woman would get on train, ride
short distance and then disembarli Mt o
station. Conductors, lIolcomb, McKeogh
and Johnson of the Rensselaer, and Saratoga
trains have noticed that the woman seemed
to start from TT. Edward. invariably, re-
turning to the same station after short ab-
sence. At first Conductor Itolcomh
thought by the womans appearance and
watchfulness of nearly every one, that she
was a female detective. Her movements
finally excited suspicion in the minds of
the conductors that she was not following
an honorable calling Several ladies' peck
cts had been picked on the train at different
times, and suspicion at once centcred on
the mysterious woman.
About a month ago blind lady accom-
panied by young lady got ON the train at
Fort Edward. When the lady looked for
her pockeibooli she discovered that some
one had taken it, Several others have had
their pockets picked when getting aboard
Or leaving the train at other places. The
theft has always been committed AT sta
ton when the victim was either going on
or off the train. About two months since,
II. c. Hall, assistant superintendent OF the
Rensselaer, and Saratoga railroad, informed
Officer Oliver Thomas Of Whitehall of the
Womans suspicious movements. Since then
Officer Thomas has been on the watch with
the hope of capturing her He wished 10
60 TO Fort Edward to find her place of res
idencc and to obtain some clue to enable
him to account for her wandcrings, but it
was thought any such movement might re-
suit in no good. if it did not cause the bird
to fly entirely. Tuesday Officer Thomas
and Assistant Superintendent Hall received
notice that the woman had alightcd at
Whitehall from the II o'clock m.
southern train. Officer Thomas started
to ascertain where size might be
stopping. lie visited all the hotels in
the village still he could not find her To-
wards evening he got on track Of her. She
went to the depot TO the s o'clock train,
/ nptoa,. rbnN,oe l-on,,;,,,r 81 ., t,,,,
AS the train arrived from the south the wo-
man started from the depot with the off,
Ger shadowing her He observed her
brush mysteriously up against a lady, the
sister of Antoine Renois, who had arrived
on the train from ST. Louis. Officer Tho
mas stepped up quickly to the lady and
asked her if she had lost her pocketbook
She put her hand in her pocket and re-
piled that she had. officer Thomas i'm
mediately followed his prey into the car of
the train bound for Rutland and placing
his hand on the woman's shoulder, told her
that he wanted her to go with him. Quick
as FASH but not quick enough to elude
the quick glance of her capturers
eye, she threw something under the
sea-. The officer picked it up and found 1t
to be the pocketbook taken from the lady s
pocket. He then arrested the woman and
removed her to Halls hotel, where an ex-
animation of her clothing by the house
keeper of Halls hotel brought to light
nothing mysterious but bottle OF wine.
The stopping place of the woman in this
village could not be ascertained, but her
absence during the day is conclusive evil
dence that she must have some friends in
Whitehall. We interviewed her immedi-
ately after her arrest, but she would impart
little or no information concerning herself.
She gave her name as Mrs. Richardson and
said that she was an English widow
lady. Her age we should think is about
twenty-siX years she is short medium
build, with dark brown hair Her face
was quite ford and we should think likely
she is an English woman, as she stated.
She is bold looking woman and seemed
but little concerned about her arrest. She
was locked up in room at Halls Hotel
and her clothes taken away to prevent her
escape. In appearance she answers the
description of the notorious Mollic IIol-
brook, who was arrested several weeks
since in New York for pocket-pcking at
Chicago. While on her way in charge of
an officer she escaped from the train while
passing through Canada since which time
she has eluded the detectives.