The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-01-04
FLORENCE RUGER'S FATE.
IMPENETRABLE MYSTERY or A CHI
CAGo GIRLS DISAPPEARANCE.
Gone, Like the "Baseless Fabric OF
Vision"-Blotted Gu. in an Hour-A
Most Remarkable Case of
missing"

CHICAGO, Jan. 4.-About 9 o'cloak
Wednesday evening, Oct Z, Miss Florence
Ruger, daughter of STATE Senator Ruger,
left her home at 53l Loomis street Two
hours later the search for her bean. Officers
and detectives have been employed, and
anxious friends have contributed an earnest
zeal and their best efforts to the hunt, but
not one trace of the missing girl has been
found. When she closed the door of her
fathers hou,e she stepped into oblivion.
Scores of clews Of all kinds have been
diligently traced to their source, but each
and all of these failed to result iii any evi-
dence of her whereabouts To this day she
has not been traced ten feet from the door
of her home
The night was cold, dark, and cheerleBs.
A drilling rain was falling. Miss Ruger
mad passed the evening at home in the usual
manner, and during the disagreeable
weather had not been out during The day.
At the hour st lted she went to a rear door,
stepped outside, and closed it behind her.
The act was done in the plain me ei-os-fact
manner which any one would use wien
doing anything usual, and ordinary Httie
things about their homes, and attracted no
attention Half an hour later some member
OF the household casually inquired for her.
No one knew where she was She would be
in within a few moments. An hour passed
and her absence was wondered at. by IL
O'Clock her prolonged and pnusuai absence
caused some uneasiness. About tha5 time
Senator 1e~- "rn-u-Eei home and the search
for hen begun
The =. .r ,s mt to South Halstead,
expecting to fiHd h-s iGghter at her uncle's
10 one at the house mad seen her or knew
any thing of he: whoieai outs. Then he, too.
became alarmed. The neighbolhood of her
home was searched. and the homes OF all of
her frienls living il the vicinity were Wis
itei Not one of them had seen her. The
night was a wretched one in that once happy
household, and many more nights of wake
fulness and sorrow We're destined to follow
it, The iext day the police were notified,
and, joined by friends Of the family, began
a systematic search of the city. Every clew
proved, when carefully followed, to te due
to mistaken identity or some similar error
The daily press gave publicity to the strange
affair, and press dispatches, giving the
meager details obtainable, were NJ to
nearly every city and town in the United
States.
When she went out she wore a neat plaid
walkingdress, with a plated skirt and a
cut away waist made in imitation of a
Jacket and vest She had on dark straw
hat matching the dress She Wore no wrap
or circular nor any rubbcrs neither did she
have ;,:.y hand-hag 4 subsequent search
estiblis ed the fact that she had taken no
otl la,. | hnr
Miss Florence Ringer was born in tbs
city March o, 1858 and was therefore be-
tween Il and Is years of age Her home
had always basn in tais city. She was of
IleIiu,a height, and had a well developed
and rarely perfect figura. Her complexion
was fair, and hsi that pea nh-likc delicacy
whi IS rare among city girls. Her hair
AZ liClt-tTow i'll o OF, and her dark blue
=y,s re Ii Q !i-.u d ani AID full of tbs
9 p. son wGI, Il q Z ompanies a sweet ana
usting disposition OF happy te.npera-
menr, lieht-iearted and joyous, sh-
was the ligh. of the hcme winch
hrn. efoltl will always be darkenad
by the mystery of her fate
There are several features of this strange
case which are worthy of mention at this
time. Miss Ruger had lived on a Loomis
street for years. She was known TO nearly
every one in the vicinity. 1t was almost an
imrossibility for her to walk block in that
neighborhood without meeting some person
no knew her Yet it is clearly established
that no one saw her Had she gone in car
riage some person would have seen it.
Yet Zone was seen Had she per-
ished in the lake or the river her
body would surely have been found before
this time After studying the case in every
aspect and from every standpoint one is
brought to the cOnclusioa that she must have
died, and that her death was due either 70
suicide or violence But this does not re-
move a particle of the mystery nor make
the facts any easier of discovery Mis-
Ruger was pure and innocent girl, of un-
usual charms of mind and person Her
fate will, in all probability, never be
known