The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-01-01
A CHASE FOR A CHILD.

About ten days since the Assoeia
ted Press told Of the KIDNAPPING of
4-year old child named Maggi,
Pickett, from her home at Latrobe
Westmoreland county, Pennsylva
MA, by man and woman supposed
to be John Burns and wife, Las
eYenipg the little child was at the
union depot in this city in charge Of
her uncles, John and Enoch Davis
and the story of her recovery reads
like a romance. the two young men
having followed her over1 800 miles
and at APPOINT only few miles from
Indian Territory line she was over.
taken and released from the clutches
OF her kidnapers. The child, who is
a beautiful little girl not quite 4
years Of age, was born and raised at
Latrobe, her parents being well-to-do
people of the middle class, and her
beauty was known from one end OF
the town to the other, being
Of that order which makes people
stop in the streets and ask who
She was. 1t is supposed that this
was the cause of the abduction, her
kidnapers hoping that a large reward
would be offered for her return, not,
however. by her parents, who were
poor but by the city or state The
child was stolen on the afternoon of
Friday, Dec. 9, by man thought to
be John Burns n coal-miner and his
credited wife. A late train took
them 10 Pittsburgh, and there the
trail was lost for time. Two young
men, uncleS of the girl, however, went
to Pittsburgh, and at that point col
umn after column was written about
the case and at last it was aScer-
tanned that a man and woman with
golden-haired child had purchased
two tickets for Kansas City via Chi
cage on MOnday,Dec. II, and thither
the two uncles fastened. The trail
was easily followed by the baggage
checks on the two trunks belonging
to Burns and wife, and the couple
came to Kansas City over the Chi
cagO and Alton road and stopped at
the Valley house, situated on ninth
street, between Hickory and Null
berry. The two uncleS John and
Enoch Davis, reached Kansas City
last Friday morning, and at once
searched the registers of all West
Kansas hotels, and at the Valley
house were found the names OfJchn
Burns, wife, and child, and the girls
in the house remembered the beauty
of the child. But they hac gone,and
not until late that afternoon was it
discovered that John Burns had
purchased tickets for Wichita via
the AtchisOn, Topeka and Santa Fe
road. The same night found the
two uncleS bound for the same point,
only thirty-Six hours behind the sto-
len child, and the chase became
most exciting. At Wichita it was
found the parties had gone toArkan-
sas City, and when the pursuers
reached that point ON Sunday last
the discovery was made that
Burns had hired a pair of
horses and a driver, and was making
for Indian Territory. The Davis
boys did the same thing, and after a
hard drive the first carriage was
overtaken and the child taken from
her abductOrs. The little one, when
she saw her uncles, held out her
hands and begged to be taken from
''tbis bad nasty woman" and cried
for her mamma. The two Davis
boys were without arms ofany kind
at the time Of meeting. and, after re-
covering the child. they allowed the
two abductorS to escape, and then
drove back to Wellington. where
Monday night they took the train on
the Kansas City, Lawrence and
Southern Kansas road for, Kansas
City.-KGpSGS city Times.