Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-10-11
PEOPLE WHO DISAPPEAR
HUNDREDS MYsTERloUsLY DROP
OUT or SIGHT YEARLY IN CHICAGO.

w VI StAH 6~u6s ~ S'"SVSs
Many : weird Tale Hidden Away In the
Records OF Strange DisappearansAs
Kept by tho Police-A Remarkable
Case Unraveled by = Mind-Reader.
Many q queer tale, more weird and
interesting than any penned by
writer's of fiction, is hidden away In
the records of mysterious disappear
ances kept by the Chicago Police De-
partment. Between three hundred
and four hundred men and women
drop out of sight every year in this
city-disappear as completely as If the
earth had opened and swallowed
them. What becomes of these people
is mystery few detectives care to at
tempt to explain. Foul play is the
explanation advanced by their rela-
tives in nine cases out of ten, murder
by footpads being the customary plea,
but in few instances are the facts such
as to justify this conclusion.
Wholesale killings for plumber
:ould not go on year after year with
out detection. Sooner or later the
bodies of some of the alleged victims
would turn up, or stolen valuables
would be found in that market for all
thieves, the pawnshop. It is because
of lack of developments of this kind
that officers experienced in criminal
matters scout the idea of foul play.
But people keep on disappearing at an
alarming rate, and the natural ques-
ton is, What becomes of them?
They are not embezzlers or others
who have known cause for hiding them
selves. IF the reports received at Po-
lice Headquarters are accurate, nearly
all of these missing people are indi-
viduals free from financial or domes
tic troubles, and, to all outward ap.
pearances, happily situated in life.
'sMen do queer things at times"
said former Captain Elliott, in dis
cussing this subject, s'and of all their
freaks that Of mysteriously disappear
ing is the oldest. Sometimes they
really become insane and actually lose
their identity, but as a rule those who
disappear are not afflicted mentally.
In nearly every instance where a man
of sou:id mind disappears, and no
murder has been committed, close in
vestigation will disclose the fact that
he has some resi- or fancied cause for
getting out of the way. Wives are
always positive their husbands love
them, but have known instances in
which men who to all outward ap-
pearances were devoted husbands
were really weary of life with their con-
jugal mates, and quietly disappeared
in orG.a:: to get rid of them.
''Men sometimes become annoyed be-
cause their business affairs are not in
good shape and seek relief in volun-
tary retirement. Others, again, are
imbued with love of adventure and
after spending years in quiet domestic
surroundings, suddenly become inn
bued with an unconquerable desire to
see other phases of life. tits possible
and even probable that some of the
people reported as missing fall victims
to footpads, but the number is small.
Crimes of this kind are easily detected,
and while the perpetrators may not be
caught in every instance, the identity
of the victim and the fact of killing
are pretty sure to be quickly
established.
zone of the queerest cases of my
sterious disappearance with which the
Chicago Police Department has had to
deal is that of John w. Matthews, who
quietly dropped oat of sight in this
city last November and has never been
heard from. An unusually vigorous
search was made for Matthews because
he was an intimate friend of Captain
Campbell, secretary of the Depart
ment, and the latter interested himself
in seeing that the hunt was thor,
ough me. Matthews lived in Mon.
mouth, Ill, and was man of con-
siderable wealth. He came to Chicago
about the middle of November, wear
ing new suit of clothes and with
500 in cash. Here he met and talked
with several friends, all of whom
afterward remarked that he was in
fine health and spirits. Two days
later Matthews was missing and nc
trace of him was to be found.
1.-THE police were bafied, when
nind-reader gave them clew which
led to strange disclosures. This per-
son and Matthews had been suddenly
taken insane in Chicago and had gone
to q hotel in Madison street, near.
CLARK. street, where he registered
under his proper name, but in an un-
decipherable running hand, and had
been assigned to room on the fourth
floor. Before bedtime, however, he
had taken car and gone to the lake
near jackson Park. where he drowned
himself. Shortly after this. the mind
reader said, the body was washed
ashore in the Calumet region, where
it was found by fisherman, who APP
propriated the money and valuables,
and then to save himself trouble buried
the remains in the sand.
Matthew's signature was found
on the hotel register, and he had been!
assigned to fourth floor room, which
he had not Occunied Search along