Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1891-11-23
AN OFFICERS STORY.
Sensation with Which
AImywas Connected
A MYSTERIOUS DROWNING
Followed by Almy Offering q Reward
For The Body.

SALEM, Mass, Nov 23-Marshal Hart
of the Salem police tells this strange story:
On Sunday, July q. 1873 man by the
name of Mears went out 10 sail in dory
in Salem harbor That night II was re
ported AT the police station that he had not
returned.
THE next day" says the marshal, with
other officers found the boat on the Mar
blehead shore. Then we dragged the har-
Dor round about for three days. Either
Wednesday or Thursday a man, supposed
to he Abbott or Amy, the murderer of
Christie Warden, came into the police
station and asked me il everything was
done that could he done to find the body.
replied yes, and the stranger wanted to
know If by Offering 4 reward other parties
than the police could he induced to go out
side on the search ! answered no doubt
they could
'Thcn, said the stranger, there is SO
you can offer in your name rs reward"
and he handed me two $40 bills.
Il asked who are yous' The reply
was, No natter ! then said, Il would
like to know with whom am dealing and
the stranger answered that
His Name Was George Abbott,
and he was then boarding in Summer
street. He came TO the police station af-
terwad once or twice, and wanted to
know If the police had heard anything, and
was answered that they had not, but were
dragging the harbor in search of the body.
"On Aug. 3 the body was found. The
medical examiner and went To Marble
head and identified the body, which was
dressed in an oilcloth suit. fully identi-
fled il rs the body of Mcars. We asked
who found it. and the lightkeeper spoke
up and said 4 did Thereupon, | re-
joined: i have SO in my pocket that was
TO be given to the person who found the
body and | handed the two SO bills over
to the lightkeepor. He made some in
quiries rs to what the circumstances of
the family were, and ! answered that they
were poor The
Brave and Generous Lightkeeper
then said: You take TIL back aud give
it to the widow The medi1 al examiner
and then drove TO Salem and sent over
an undertaken tor the body. We then
went to the widows house. ! told her of
the discovery and that the body would
soon he home. | said that the man who
found the body gave me $40 for her, and
told her about the young man leaving that
sum with me. That was the first time /
saw the daughter of the drowned man.
Very soon aficrward this girl disap-
peared all Of sudden, and the mother
came and wanted To know if the Salem
police could find the daughter, saying she
thought
Th%GirI Had Gone to Canada.
When did she goy' | asked, and she re-
piled, THIS morning.
81 teleguaphed 20 Bangor, Me-. and had
the girl taken Off the train They wired
back that they had the girl there awaiting
my reply. notified the mother that she
could have the girl by going for her. She
rerlipl that she had no money and could
not go, and said:
There is nothing we can do but send
down word and ask them To put her
aboard the train and send her home" And
here comes
The Coincidence.
About the sam. time that the girl went
away, this fellow who had given me the
money disappeared from Salem The local
police never heard from the girl aftcrward
The mother soon left the city and was
thought to have gone to Canada. The
next ] heard of Abbott was when the
officers came from Windsor, VT, and noti-
fled me that he had escaped from jail
"Inever saw him again until | saw him
my belief this Almy il the same man. l
feel entirely certain that Almy and the
mysterious stranger who gave me the two
$40 bills to offer as a reward are one and
the same person"