Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-05-06
A CURIOUS CASE,
Mysterious Disappearance of a
Vest wheeling Girl,
While Staying at House on the South
Side---The Police Look Into the
Case, but Drop It.

That portion Of the city lying south OF
Tweuty-6rst street, west of Market and
north Of Twenty-fourth street, has been IN
q fever of excitement during the past thirty
ak hours over the disappearance OF
a GIRL whose home is in West Wheel
ing, but who was last seen at the
residence of a woman living within the ter,
ritory above mentioned, about ten days
ago. Yesterday the average Fifth and
Sixth ward citizen was dead sure that q
foul and bloody murder had been commit
ted. and the body buried sone"here about
the premises occupied by the woman with
whom the girl a staying, and one could
hear the widest and most unreasonable
stories at every turn during the afternoon.
These stories quickly made their wsY to
the newspaper offices, aud during the
day halt the reporlorisl force OF the town
was ut work on the case. In hrstrumorsoI
the reported tragedy we're Of arather vague
and indefinite nature, as far as the lcca-
ton of the premises was concerned, but al
ter trayarsing a considerable Distance
through the back streets and allej 8 OF the
Sixth and Fifth wards with no success, the
gang of reporters fnally struck q stable In
the alley east Of Chapllne street and norm
of Twenty.thirj street, where a hostler ssld
the blood stained premises were located q
couple of squares further on toward the
base of the bill. Up TO this time four seps-
rate and distinct names, each purportlng to
be the only correct cogaomen OF the woman
whose domiCile the reporters were IN quest
of had been heard, but this gentleman
verV kindly supplied q fifth, at the same time
giving the assurance thot al! the others were
fraudulent. Discouraged, but sill IN the
ring. the reporters pushed on. and sooa
brought up in front Of a house in Alley h,
in front Of which a group OF
about fifty children, assorted sizes,
but ell Uniform in that they sadly needed
an immediate application OF soap and
water. we're collected. The house was
tenantIesg, and the doors closed and lock-
ed, but a small boy volunteered the lntor'
nation that chats where the grave ID;
down in the cellar" at the same time
pointing through the coal hole TO d mound
of freshly turned up clay on the cellar tioor
The advent of the reporters seemed to In
tensify the excitement under which every
one in the neighborhood was evident
" laboring, and q large
crowd was soon cougregated about tn
place. Inquiry at the adjoining house re-,
vsaled the fact that the people had moved
away. that there were grave suspicious thai
something vas wrong" that the police
had been working in the cellar, and that
the KEY Of the vacant house was there, but
that the officers had given strict order 70
let no Que have it. The woman who had
lived ia the house was named Fieisnerr
but abe had moved up town" the plot
seemed to thicken, and the reporters start
Ell in search of an officer who could throw
some light on the subject.
At the Niagara engine house, which was
visited in search of Officer Stephens, 1t wac
learned that that official was at the Courj
House and the whole crowd OF reporters
broke for the Temple OF Justice, with q
firm conviction that the thing had Planned
out" The officer Was duly found, but &C
far from furnishing, u hrst class sensation
it was learned thar alter q consultation
with Prosecuting Attorney Jor6an, it had
/ been d. cided 10 let the affair dror
"a mo good" At the request q
the reporters, however, Officer Stephen:
! a~ccompsnicd them back TO The house in AL
, leTE, and en- route told tie toL!owIng story
,"Some moths ago a Mrs Flsisner, 4
, widow, aged about Is. accompanied by bel
daughter, Laura, aged about ~ or ~
came to this side OF the river from West
: Wheeling and rented the house In ALLEY
f The advent OF the family excited nc
{ particular comment for some time, bu'
liaally scenes Of disorder began TO Os
enacted about the premises. and the neigh
bors began to tell stories Of various kinds
Oa April 10Th, the family was visited BY
the Young girl, whose parents re-
sided At West Wheeling, and on the follow
ing Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
fights occurred IN the house two revolver
shots being fred in the Sunday night
trscas The next day the daughter, Laura
appesred with one arm in q sling, but the
Other g!-l had mysteSiously disappeared
aud has not ocen seau trom that
dsy to this, although ter Tels-
tiyes on the Ohio side, aided By the police
of this city, have been making diligent
search foi her.
"Onthe day following the fight, Monday,
April 26th, the ~neighbors say the family
carried a good deal of water into ths Gel
lar OF the house, and a. out 10 o'clock that
night the father otthe missing girl came to
me aud said his daughter was
in the house and that they would not 10;
him in or allow her to come out. On
Tuesday the family moved away up towO,
keeping the key Of the old house, however,
until last Friday, making one or two visits
to it.
"A day or two later, while some boys wsre
playing in the alley in front OF the house,
one OF them craWled through the coal hole
in.o the cellar, and being unable to get
out, lis Ecc.her obtained a key and entered
the house 10 release him. When che Re-
turned she said there was q grave in the
cellar and the fact of the fight, the pistol
shots, and the disappearance OF the
girl being flesh in the minds OF the people
living in the vicinity, the report flew with
wings Of the wind that the missing girl was
buried in the cellar.
This came to the ears of TIE police on
Monday, and that afternoon | visited
the celler. At tina; time q space
6xS feet, in front of the door, showed every
symptom of having been freshly dug up,
and then the earth wet with water
aud carefully replaced. 1t was
sunken and cracked around the edges,
leaving the outline Of the excavation sharp
IL defined, and the top bore marks OF u
shovel or spade having been us.d to pul
down the earth while it Was get moist
| went to work at exc4vaing, and
found, after penetrating a few inches,
that the ground was moist and loose while
elsewhere about the osl.ar il Was hard ard
dry. The digging quickly attracted
about one hundred citizens living
in the vicinity, who surrounded the dwell
ing 'front.' and rear, aud gazsd into tho Gel.
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