The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-24
Search Still Going On For the Body
Of Henry BrittOn.
SHERIFF PLUMMER VISITED THE
SCENE IN PERSON YESTERDAY.

Discovered in Time-A General Feeling
in Raym ond that Murder Has Been
Committed.
Sheriff Plummer returned from Ray
mohd last evening. He went there to
see what was being done to find the body
of Henry Britton, or to show that he is
still living.
The sheriff found that there is uni
versaI belief that he is dead, but that
there is no longer all organized search
being made for the body. Men have
gone back to their regular work, and
only the few who happen to be out of
work, or who have no pressing work
on hand still continue the effort to find
the remains. For example, while he
himself was going over the ground
supposed to have been covered by Brit
ton the night when he SO suddenly and
completely dropped out of sight, he met
two or three men who were still search
ing for the body. and later found Mr..
George Knight, who had been neigh
Dor of the missing man. He was search
ing the woods between the Delean house
and Webb's Mills, a ground somewhat
neglected.
The sheriff found TINT the search had
been more thorough than he supposed.
There is no great distance at any point
from the road Britton travelled that
night, according to what Joseph Delean
says, and the river or pond. The search
back from the road on the high grounds
has been carried apparently as far as
Britton could have wandered had he
or where the body would under the cir
cumstances have been taken supposing
him to have been murdered.
Sheriff Plummer did deem it proper
to order the search carried beyond the
point already made. He found that some
and that one in particular is very large
and deep. He directed the putting of
boat into that bog and the making of a
very thorough examination of its depths.
There is a feeling with many that the
body may be there.
into the lake. Unless in the bog in ques-
tion or some emaller one,it is in Panther
river or Panther pond. The bar at the
mouth OF the river that connects the
pond with Sebago lake is very large,
and the water is now only few inches
at the deepest over it. Lum bermen say
that no log could be got over that bar,
no -
Sheriff Plummer that the body could
not have passed over it.
At the time when Britton disappeared,
and up to the past day or two,1 the ice
was still in tact in Panther pond, ex-
cepJ on the shore nearest to the road
along which Britton passed after he left
the Delean house. Up to this time
anything like a dredging of the pond,
except on the edges, was out.of the ques-
teton. Unless weighted, the kbody will
soon come to the surface.
"The body itself will settle the ques-
tion whether he was or was not MUIR
dered said Sheriff Plummer. and the
recovery of the body is now only ques-
ton of time"
While the sheriff declined to express an
opinion regarding what led to the death
of Britton. he is OF the opinion, judg-
ing from all that has been discovered,
that he is dead. His house has been
watched, and he has not been..bac to it.
His hat was found, as stated in the
PRESS, and the sheriff does not be-
1ieve that he could have gone from the
neigh borhood in his condition without
being seen. He has himself no doubt
that the man is dead
Sheriff Plummer completely disproved
of sta tement ediIed to M. P. Lon,-
bard of Raymond, in which that gentle
man was made to state positively that
he saw Britton, Joseph Delean, and a
man named Milliken at Smiths hotel
that night, and that they all left to-
gether. The sheriff looked into that
point thoroughly and is convinced that
Mr.. Lombard was not correctly reported.
or if correctly reported. that he was mis-
taken. BriJton was at Smiths hotel at
'clock that afternoon, and the others
named were not with him. There were
four men at the hotel when Britton was
there. Mr.. Smith, the proprietor, Mr..
Barrows, MIR. York, and Mr.. Edwin A.
Plu INNER. There is not bit OF evidence
to show that Britton was ever seen by
any one afterE Joseph Delean says he
parted with him 200 OR 800 yards from
the house. eft he was seen after that
we have not been able.t to discover the
one who saw him. said the sheriff.
Sheriff Plummer declined to state
| what was said to him by Joseph Delean,
or by any other member of the Delean
family. Preferring to go to Raymond
without theory regarding the case. the
sheriff did not read the account pub
lished in the PRESS Monday. Deputies
Firth and Buchanan made their investi-
CATION previous to the time when the re-
porters of the PRESS reached the scene,
and they, also will not state the details
Of what was said to them.
A letter to the PRESS from Ray
mond correspondent states that there is
a general feelinp that pr;++o,, ,,,o. x.,,,