The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1898-09-01
Held on Suspicion OF Being
a Person Wanted
at Duluth
For the Murder OF a BOu
on November 5th,
1896.

Joseph Colts, labOrer IN the en-
ploy of Edward Dunlevy, of Redwood
Falls township, was confined in the
county Jail from last Saturday even
ing to Tuesday morning, on the
charge of being Frank Melusky, alias
Frank McClusky, alias John Miller,
wanted at Duluth to answer the
charge of murder.
On Tuesday morning H. R. Yolton
of Duluth, organizer of the Modern
Samaritans, arrived here, and after
looking Colts over, declared that he
was not the man, and that he did not
resemble the man wanted in the least.
The story of the whole affair appears
to be about as as follows:
During the year 1896 n. r. Yolton
was conducting a chicken establish
ment near Duluth. In bis employ
was young boy named Smith, son of
Q. D. Smith of Sumner, Iowa, and
person giving the name of Frank Me-
husky, or John Miller, as he was known
by just before leaving that section. On
or about Nov. 5th, 1886, young Smith
mysteriously disappeared and Yolton
came to the conclusion that he had
skipped, and paid no more attention
to the matter. The parents of the
boy at Sumner. however, not hearing
from him, came to the conclusion that
he had met with foul play. On April
23c of the following year, Yolton was
having the rubbish, ETC., cleaned from
off his place, and it was while doing
so that the workmen discovered hu-
man leg protruding from the rubbish.
The workmen pulled the leg and out
came the entire body of Toy, which
Mr.. Yolton afterwards very quickly
identified as the body of young Smith.
Prior to the finding of the body Me-
husky or Miller had left Mr.. Yolton's
services, but he hovered around the
city of Duluth, Carlton, and other
points in that section for some time.
He was at Duluth continuously from
Sept. z, 1896, to Jan. 18th of the fol-
lowing year, and was seen at Carlton
March Both and April 18th, about ten
days before the bodv was discovered.
After that date there is no positive ev-
idence of his having been seen by per-
sons who knew him.
As soon as the murder was discov-
cred the Duluth chief of police was
informed and an investigation COM
menced, which resulted in quite con-
elusive evidence that Melusky or Mil
Ter had committed the crime. Young
Smith had some money, and the OBJ
tanning of it was undoubtedly the mo-
tive. Smiths father was notified and
on July lst he sent out postal cards
Offering a reward of 500 for the arrest
of Melusky or Miller. 1t is understood
that the St. Louis county authorities
also offered reward, larger in amount,
for the arrest and conviction of the
guilty man.
During the time Immediately be-
fore and after the commission of the
crime one Joseph Ryan was q special
detective on the Duluth police force.
In the whirl of politics and official du-
ties he was retired from the force, and
when the body of young Smith was
discovered and the rewards were made
public Ryan commenced his investiga-
ton of the case with the view of find
ing the murderer and claiming the re-
ward. He drifted into Mankato. There
he met an old friend of Melusky's,
who was surprised to hear that his old
friend was wanted for murder. He
declared that he had seen him only .
few weeks before and that he was in
this section Of the State. Ryan fol-
lowed the towns along the Northwest
ern and finally landed in Redwood
Falls. By chance he ran on to Colts
>.l Al Ia