The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-06-21
QUEER ACTION OF
ALICE WAGNER
Left Her Home Sunday Night to Meet
Two Boys.
WANDERED THROUGH WOODS
All Day and Was in Hall CFazed
Condition
WHEN FOUND AT EAST LAKE
seB
Warner CIisby and Herbert Phelps the Young
Men Whom She Met Sunday Night
Arrested and Will be Tried ss
This Morning.
WHEN FOUND AT EAST LAKE

Darefooted and half clad for almost twenty
| four hours, little Alice Wagner. a 14-year-
old girl, was taken to the home of her par
ents, 1920 Third avenue last night.
She left tiny splotches of blood on the
| ground where she walked, for all day she
| had trudged through the woods in briar
| patches and over jagged rocks. Alice is
| the daughter of humble, but hard working
| parents. She is pretty and her mother al
| ways kept her well dressed. She left home
| some time Sunday night, wandered the
| woods near Woodlawn and East Lake all
| day and at the latter place she was res
| cued about IL O'clock last night in a half
| crazed condition.
Her parents were almost distracted and
| could account for her absence in no other
way than the fact that she was addicted to
making somnambulistic tours about the
neighborhood late at night
Officer Mcdaniel worked up the case, and
as a result yesterday afternoon Warner
Clisby and Herbert Phelps, two well-known
young men of this city, were arrested and
charged with being implicated in her dis
appearance. The girl in her statement last
night did not implicate the young men fur
Their than that she had an engagement to
meet them in East End Park at IL o'clock
SUNDAY night. Ibis the young luen duuht.
She claims that she had an engagement to
meet one of them last night and he, she
said, promised to give her a pass to New
York.
This is corroborated by statement she
made to a crowd of small boys who found
her on the banks of Village creek near
Woodlawn.
Little Alice was put in the bed she left
Sunday night and fell asleep sobbing and
crying with her mother over her. Her
father was grief-stricken and all day and
into the night he searched the town and
finally went to East Lake with the officers
who brought her back.
The mysterious aspect of the case ds how
the girl wandered so far away from home.
The trial will come up this morning before
Judge Feagin.
i'trange Disappearance
Early yesterdat, morning the police de-
parement was notified that Alice wagner,
14-year-old girl, had disappeared from
the home of her parents, 1920 Third avenue
during the night.
1t appears that the girl retired to her
room about o'clock Sunday night in the
best of spirits. At IL o'clock her older
sister, who shares the same bed, dlscov-
cred that Alice was missing and the back
door was open A search was at once IN
stituted and every nook and corner in and
around the house was examined without
finding any trace of the missing child. 1t
was found that the girls clothes were all
intact, not a single dress being missing.
Her shoes and stockings, which she had
pulled off before retiring, were lying on
the floor near the bed. The fact that none
of her clothes were missing deepened the
mystery and the anxious parents We're
wrought up to high state of excitement.
The girl was somnambullst ana II
was at first thought that she had wandered
off in her sleep. The matter was reported
to the police and the entire department was
notified to be on the lookout for the chllu.
Phe first discovery of the movements OF
the child after leaving home were made by
officer Mcdaniel yesterday afternoon,
when he learned that she had been seen
at West End Park about - o'clock Sunday
night by Herbert Phelps and Warner CHS
by, two well-known young men. Oncer
Mcdaniel Immediately sought Phelps, VINO
told him that in company with young CHS
by he had met the girl at the park at about
IL o'clock through a previous engagement
made in Central Park on Sunday afternoon.
Made an Engagement
Phelps stated that he had met the girl
in Central Park in the afternoon and that
he then made an engagement with her TO
meet her at West End Park at IL O'CLOCK
on Sunday night. He informed his friend
Clisby of the engagement and together
they went to the park at the appointed
hour Phelps says that when he reached
the park he whistled, which was answered
by the girl, who emerged from the bushes
and exclaimed Here am" That any
harm was offered the girl is denied by the
bows. who say that after conversing for
some time the girl asked: who is going
TO take me homer" to which they replied:
"Who brought you here?" They then told
her that they intended following her to
find out where she lived, but sne op1ected
and started ON a run.
Watched Her Return Home
-. af
her was when she was crossing Fourth
avenue and Sixteenth street about one
block from the park. They claim that they
then proceeded to their homes on the North
Highlands and went to bed.
The circumstances surrounding the meet
ing aroused the supicion of t. officers ana
Phelps was placed under arrest on the
charge of procuring a girl over 10 and
under Is years of age for the purpose OF
prostitution" An officer was sent for
young Clisby and he soon arrived at the
city prison where a similar charge was
made against him. The young men at once
made bond in the sum of 500 each, and
were released from custody.
1t was later rumored that the girl had
gone to Decatur, but nothing positive could
be learned in this direction and 1t was not
given much credence.
It was suggested that perhaps the girl
had fallen into bad hands and a thorough
search of the houses of prostitution were
made without discovering any traces of the
missing girl.
Mrs. wagners Story
Mrs. Frank Wagner. the mother of the
girl was seen at her home about o'clock
last night and appeared greatly worried.
She said: my husband is still out looking
for our child. We have no idea what has
become of her, but do not believe that she
has left home of her own free will. She
was in excellent spirits on Sunday and
attended Sunday school at the Central
Presbyterian church In the morning.
Gin the afternoon she attended a meeting
of the missionary society at the same
church and returned home much i'm
pressed. She wore a white duck shirt
waist and sailor hat and when she 70.