The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-10-14
A GIRL ABDUCTED.
Taken Away From Good Home
and Forced to Beg.

city adopted Il-year-Oid glrl Dy the
name of Ida Anderson. Ida being
left an orphan gladly accepted the
home offered her by Mr.. Letter and
lived happily with Mr.. and Mrs.
Letter until about two months
ago when she suddenly disappeared
from her home. Nothing was learned
of Idas whereabouts beyond the fact
that she was seen few days after her
disappearance several miles from. .Os-
ceola In a movers wagon. II was
then concluded that Ida had been
stolen by gypsies and that was the
last heard of her until yesterday when
it was discovered that she was in Sc
dalia and being forced to beg on the
streets.
An item in Yesterdays BAzoo fur
nished the clew which established the
girls identity. The item referred to
the destitute circumstances of family
of emigrants, who were moving from
Lincoln county, Kaneas, to Calhoun
county, Illinois, and were asking
aims to procure medicine and proper
food for a sick woman, the
wife of the head Of the outfit. The
article attracted the attention of Mrs
Samuel Ford, who resides on West
Main street and she mentioned the
matter to Mrs. Letter, mother Of
Henry Letter of Osceo'a. and said
the girl had been TO her house begging
and told her she had been stolen from
her home in Osceola. Mrs. Letter
obtained a description of the girl from
Mrs. Ford and was satisfied that she
was Ida Anderson, who had been
adopted by her son.
Early this forenoon a man and
woman drove up in front of Mrs
Ford's house and asked her if she
had seen anything OF the girl who had
been to her house the day before.
Being told that she had not been
seen there to day the man volunteered
the information that the girl had ran
away from them and they were
trying to find her. Mrs.
Ford being aware of
the alb luction tartiy remarked, "She
ought to have ran away from you
w.; i-nnu ynn SOLE her p'
and drove rapidly southwark. i
Mrs. Ford communicated the above
facts to a BAzoo reporter and an hour
later he found the girl on Ohio Street.
in the shoe store of Ahrends q Kul-
sci, where she went for the purpose of
begging.
Ida, when asked by the reporter if
she was not from Osceola instead of
from Kansas, admitted that the story |
she had told in the BAzoo office the |
day before, when asking for aims,
was fabrication and that she form.
erly lived in Osceola. During
5he conversation in the store
a stout, healthy man stood
IN the pavement watching the girl.
The reporter persuaded the girl to 60
With him to the BAzoo office and then
tell the truth about the cause of her
After much hesitation |
he finally consented to 60 along with
he reporter, whose object was to
notify officer John B. Murphy, who
was acquainted with the facts, that
he girl had been found. But the
nan on the pavement, who turned
nut to be the alleged abductor, had
AIKEN the alarm and before Ida and
her escort had reached the BAzoo of
ice little girl ran up and tod Ida
hat her father wanted her right
way. "Where is your father"
sked the reporter. There he u.s."
aid Ida, pointing TO the man who
lad been standing in front of
he shoe store. Ida retraced
Ter steps and rjoined the mall
t the corner of Ohio and Third
treets and with the little girl
led west on Ohio. Officer Murphy
7as on their trail ten minutes after
he party went west but all trare of
hem was lost before they could have
cached Missouri avenue. They had
disappeared as completely as if the
arth had opened and swallowed
hem. /
The girl is dressed in blue figured
alico dress, fairly good looking, tall
f her age, neat in appearance and
las an impediment in her speech.
The man, whom IDA said was David
franklin Stearns, wears reddish col
red coat and is past middle age.
lie followed the girl from the store
md Kept a close watch of her
very movement. To Mrs.
scrd, the girl told story
# being i'll treated and there seems to
Ne no doubt that this able bodied man
Stearns) is compelling the girl to be
beggsr for his personal gain.
40