The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-01-24
REYNOLDS ROBBERY.
I0I i NUIlDO IGOODIIb Is
A Successful Raid on Nc
Laughlin & Miller's Store.
The Safe Blown Open and
Money Taken.
Details of the Crime and the
Amount of Plumber.

A very bold, and at the same time, sue
eessful robbery was perpetrated last night,
or rather at an early hour this morning, at
REYNOLDS, station on the Rock Island &
Mercer county railroad, by which the store
of Mclaughlin s. Miller was relieved of a
considerable sum of money, drafts and
other yaluables.
The robbery was performed by some
men experienced in the business, as the
main door of the store was unlocked, the
safe blown open and the money carried off
without awakening two families who lived
Immediately above the place robbed.
The residents of Reynolds are greatly
agitated over the affair this morning, and
are very anxious to arrest the parties inn
plicated in the crime. Suspicion points to
two strange men who were seen about the
village yesterday afternoon and last night,
although up to a late hour to-day the sus
pected parties had not been discovered,
and it is feared that they have made good
their escape into Iowa, or else are hiding
out in the country
THE DETAILS
of the robbery are substantially as follows:
At an early hour this morning the two
families who reside over the store of Nc
Laughlin g. Miller, in Reynolds, were
awakened by terrific explosion, which
had taken place in the store beneath their
rooms. The explosion was of such char
acter that every window in the whole
building was shaken with great force, and
those on the first floor were driven out into
the street.
An examination of the premises imme
diately took place, as soon as the male
members of the two families could prepare
themselves to visit the first floor, 1t was
then discovered that the windows, sash
and all, had been blown out into the street.
The store room was filled with smoke, and
for some time it was quite difficult to make
any investigation of the rear portion. The
two men, Baugh and Noeckler, one of
whom is painter and the second a
plasterer, finally passed in the store, and
there made
THE DISCOVERY
that the safe had been blown open, and all
the money drafts and valuables generally
had been extracted.
The store is one OF the largest in Rey-
nolds, and conducted a grocery, dry goods
and general country business. In the same
building is located the Pest Office which
made it one of the most frequented of all
the establishments of the place.
The proprietors were soon made aware
of what had occurred, and they commenc-
ed systematic search to discover how the
fully worked.
1t was soon learned that the robbers had
gained an entrance into the store by means
of the front door. They had bored two
small holes Immediately beneath the large
bolt which secures the door at night, and
were thus enabled to reach the bolt with
their fingers and remove it from the door.
They made straight for the grocery depart
ment, where they helped themselves to
some cheese, crackers and other delicacies
there found, with which they made
MIDNIGHT MEAL
with apparent relish and enjoyment. The
remnantst of the repast were found this
morning scattered about the floor and
counters, giving evidence that while they
were satisfying the inner" man they were
also busily engaged in exploring the prem
ises with view of cracking" the safe.
The thieves, before entering the store,
adopted to the work of boring in iron,
from neighboring blacksmith shop.