The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-31
REED FREE.
FannousBunco
Man Escapes.
KEEPER LEFT HIM
In Room at Sherwood House
For a Minute.

| John Reed the famous bunco man.
is again at liberty Reed was brought
to this city yesterday afternoon from
the states prison at Charlestown. where
he was Serving a sentence of from IL
to IA years, to appear in the superior
court today and answer to three of the
numerous charges that are hanging
over him. officer ]. L. Abbott of the
states prison force left Boston with his
prisoner at $50 o'clock, arriving in this
city on the 5 o'clock train.
| Offlcer and prisoner were handouffed
together during the trip from Boston
ana on their arrival in this city were
aflVen at once to the Sherwood House,
Where rooms were secured for the night
MRS. Reed arrived in Worcester at I. 80
O'Clock, and on making INQUIRIES came
10 the Sherwood and secured rooms.
she was allowed to see her husband.
husband and Wife sat up late talking.
| IN company with the officer About /
| CLOCK, as near as he can place the
time, Mr.. Abbott had occasion to leave
the room, and as he had only to step
across the nan, thought his prisoner
/ would be all right until his return.
| When he returned, in less than five
minutes. Reed had disappeared. The
oiacer became apprehensive as soon as
| ne noticed the mans absence, and ques-
toned Mrs. Reed as to her husbands
whereabouts. The woman was unable
to give information. She said her hus-
band told her he would go down stairs
ana get some hot water and return in
10 or 10 minutes. This was the last
| seen of him.
Officer Abbott went to police head
quarters Immediately, and within few
minutes time the entire night police
fofce was provided with q description
ana told TO look out for the famous
swindler
The telegraph and telephone wires
were brought into use, and messages
mashed over the wires in all directions
nottylng the police of different cities
| that, the much wanted man was at
| liberty
Reeds nerve, as displayed on former
occasions, served him in good stead In
1 leaving the hotel, he was obliged 10
4 pass through the main corridor OF the
! building, down the front stairs and out
/ through the hotel office. The main en-
trance to the hotel is kept locked. and
as people are constantly passing in and
/
/ above, nothing would be thought of
such an instance by one unfamiliar
with the facts of the case
| Once outside Reed disappeared as com
| pletely as though the earth had opened
| and swallowed him. Officer Abbott is
putting forth every effort to locate the
man, as he realizes fully that the con-
| sequences of the mans escape are Ii
able to come back on his head
| He also realizes that Reed iS a hard
! man to locate, and once at liberty, with
years of Imprisonment hanging over
! him in case he is recaptured will be
likely to employ all the cunning of
which he is possessed in keeping clear
of the officers.
Mrs. Reed is an invalid and had not
| seen her husband for month previous
to their meeting yesterday afternoon.
| She is Frustrated by the turn affairs
| have taken, and says she is utterly at
a loss to know where her husband has
gone.
| Various theories are advanced as to
! how the men could get out of the city
without detection. One that would
| seem extremely probable in view of
past happenings in connection with his
| career, is that Reeds friends, who ap-
peared at various times to help him
| out took a hand in. the matter.
The fact that Reed was to appear
Monday, has been published in the
newspapers, and with this knowledge,
| it would be extremely plausible to sup
pose that some of these friends fol-
lowed Reed and the officer to Worcester
| yesterday afternoon on the lookout for
a possible chance for him to escape.
With a team in waiting in the neigh
| borhood, it would have been ali eX-
ceedingly easy matter to have driven
outside the city limits almost before
! his guard knew that he had escaped.
Another theory is that Reed may
| have jumped a freight train and got
| off in that way. Trains of this de-
scription run at nearly all hours of the
night, and it would be 2 very easy mat
! ter for a determined man to take adj
/ vantage of this avenue to place miles
of country between himself and his
pursuers.
Or, again, he may have struck out
| directly for the suburbs and now be
miles away from Worcester On the
! other hand, he may be in hiding with
| in the city limits.
/! The Sherwood was searched from
| top to bottom when the escape was
first learned, but nothing that would
| Indicate the man was in hiding about
/ the premises was found There is no
outside fire escape leading from the
| room in which he was confined, and
| the only way for the man TO get out
of the building without breaking down
q door, was by means OF ole front
stairs. and out through the hotel Office.
| Later it was learned that a man an
swering Reeds description came into
Union station about 1885 o'clock and
asked the Waterman what time the
lnext train went. The Waterman asked
where? and the man replied anywhere.
He was out of breath and appeared
/ cd he Of no
! depot. and it is thought jumped a