The San Francisco call., 1898-12-08
Missing Chicago Man
 Reported Found.
CASE IS FULL OF MYSTERY
CHIEF LEES DENIES KNOWLEDGE
 OF THE AFFAIR.
Repudiates Telegram Crediting Him With Claiming to Have Located the Man in the Palace
 Hotel.

According to information received from Chicago, Charles G. Lee, who mysterious ly disappeared from the Hotel del Prado in that city two months ago, has been located in San Francisco by Chief of Po- lice Lees. According to Chief Lees, the missing man has not been located by him or any one else connected with his de- partment. The Chief says he never heard of the missing man, and advances the opinion that the author of the report Of his being located in this city is TO- mancing.
 If the Chief is not trying to conceal the facts in the case for reasons of his own, the report sent out from Chicago aods another peculiar feature to an unusually peculiar affair. Lee was a prosperous cigar merchant, having stand in the Del Prado Hotel and another short dis tance from that hostelry. His affairs were in excellent shape, and there was no con- ceivable reason why he should drop out Of sight. But drop out of sight he did, and in such a sudden and mysterious manner that his friends feared he had met with foul play. He left the hotel one evening last fall to go to his place about two blocks distant. and has not been seen from that day to the present time.
 When two days passed and he did not return his friends notified the police and as systematic aa,st search sea was begun, but with
 
 describing the missing merchant were sent. to the police of all the leading cities ih thrts the country ,5 and t is this fact that sertion of Chief Lees that he never heard of the man. The doubt as to the Chiefs sincerity is further. increased by the positive assertion of George Reising of Chicago, one of Lees most intimate friends, that he had received a letter from the san Francisco Chief to the effect that he had recognized Lee among the em- n1OVAS nj 10 al yoJ graphs sent out at the time of his oisap- pearance, and that letter containing more detailed information was on its way to Chicago. All this is as positively de- Is man Of some standing in the Windy City 1t seems strange that he should make such an assertion without reason or foun- dation.
 At the Palace nothing Is known of Lee or any man answering to His description; but as he would in all probability have assumed another name and changed his appearance this Is not surprising.
 When Lee disappeared he is believed to have had quite a sum of money on his person, as he was accustomed to go about reason it was feared he had been foully dealt with. He always dressed well. but was not inclined to dissipate, and, as he was single man, without financial or domestic troubles of any kind the only theory to account for his disappearance, aside from possible murder. was that he had become suddenly insane and wander ed away from the city. If he is in San Francisco Chief Lees Is the only man able to tell, and if the Chief knows he is apparently inclined to keep the infor- nation for the present
 It has been unkindly intimated that the Chief really though he recognized one of and sent the telegram to Reisng. and then, learning that he had made a blun- der, concluded to save himself from rid icule by denying all knowledge of the