The San Francisco call., 1899-06-22

Odhldnu OlIlC6 oaIl fTdnClSCO I6lI,
90S Broadway, June q.
A remarkable story of abduction OF q
two-year-old child was told to-day TO
Chief Of Police Fletcher by Mrs. NJ. Witt
holl and her daughter, Mrs. F. Mcclure,
who live at 1927 Seventeenth street.
The acts of which the ladies told could
only have been those of madman, and
Chief Fletcher believes that no other
theory can possibly explain the remark
able incident.
August Walter is a grandson of Mrs.
Withhold and a nephew of Mrs, Mcclure.
Mrs. Withhold and the child were on the
4 beach at West Oakland yesterday after
moon gathering shells for the chickens.
At Sixteenth and Wood streets they met
an unknown man in a buggy. He said
something in English which Mrs. WITT
holl did not understand, as she is Ger
man and speaks English very imperfectly.
After d little conversation the man seized
the little grandson by the arm, placed
him in the buggy and drove Off
The man seemed enraged that I did
not understand him. said Mrs. Withhold,
and he seized the child and was driving
away before l really knew what had hap
peucd. ! followed the buggy and never
lost sight of it, After running what
seemed to me many miles the man turned
into an open gateway on some street. He
4-ltNlltA HIS I4D4St anu Nd4 L4CN tAAC beASS
into the house. 1 was not far behind and
followed through the open door. 1 met
the man face 10 face, and when he saw
me his anger seemed TO increase. lie
grabbed a large knife and threatened to
.IIl me il I made any disturbance. he
went out Of doors, where there was some
noise, and as soon as he was outside The
house l picked up the baby and ran from
The place before he returned. could run
faster than he could, and got away. L
nor know where we went, as nave
been here less than year from st. Louis
and am not acquainted with the Slrcets
! am sure, however, that We crossed over
Mrs. WitthoI said she could easily iden-
tfy the man, as she was in the house
with him for over an hour. He is ABOUT
IS Years of age and very broad-shoul-
dered standing about feet inches tall
The child is the son of Mr.. and Mrs
Eugene Walter who came here from st.
Louis. Walter is member of the Hos
pital Corps and Is now located at the
Presidio. Mrs. Walter lives with Mrs.
Withhold and little August is their only
Although the detectives are convinced
Of the truth of Mrs. WittholPs story, there
are many remarkable features to 1t. Mrs.
Withhold says that she followed the buggy
from Sixteenth and Wood streets, which
is almost at the bay shore in West Oak
land. to an old house in Alameda, near
the tidal canal. This is distance Of
nearly four miles, and Mrs. Withhold was
kept about two blocks behind the buggy
all the way. She Is about 5U years OLD, ana
yet she was able, after having a struggle
for her life, to pick up the child and run
away with it. All this happened between
10 o'clock in the morning and in the
afternoon, and yet nobody saw it or was
asked by the woman to render her as
Sistance.
Detectives Quigley and Holland, taking
their cleW from the fact that the woman
said she followed the buggy across a
bridge. started out with Mrs. Withhold to
follow the track she thought she had
followed She led the toward the
tidal canal bridge that connects Alameda
and Oakland. When just across the bridge
Mrs. Withhold saw shanty partly hidden
by trees and she at once informed the
detectives that it was the place where
she had been held a prisoner for fully an
hour by the man who had abducted the
child. Mrs. Wittholl was very positive
and described the interior of the place
with great detail. After the detectives