Waterbury Democrat., 1901-05-11
RAN WILDLY 10 HE SCENE
Father and Sister of the Dead
 Mccormick Boy.

Creek Was One Never to be For
 gotten by Those Who Witnessed It
 The Dead Boy Was Fully Identi-
 fled by His Distracted Father and
 Sister-End of One of the Most Sen
 sational Disappearance Cases New
 York Has Ever Had.
 New York, May. 11.--Willie McCor- mick's dead body was found floating 4 in Cromwell's Creek, an inlet of the 1 Harlem river, at 161st street and Gen. tral Bridge, yesterday, and when taken ashore was identified by his father and his sister Carmelita. The body was covered with mud, and had been floating only short time evidently. There were no marks of violence, and it seems probable that the boy was drowned accidentally, and that his body has lain in the mud, twenty | feet below the surface ever since the might of March 27, last. when he dis appeared from his home in Ogden avenue. near 1e4th street. Of all the various rewards that have been offered for the return of the boy to his parents and for the ap- prehension of the supposed kidnappers none has contained any promise of payment for his dead body, so it is un- | likely that this question will be agi- tated
 James Rennessey. grocer of Third avenue and 167th street, who offered a reward of $2,000 and no questions asked for the recovery of the boy, said | to reporter for the Press on Tuesday that he wouldn't be at all surprised if Willie had been drowned in Cromwell l Creek.
 MT Hennessey said the mouth of the creek, which emptied into the Harlem river under the Central Bridge and which is crossed by a small railroad drawbridge. had been favorite play ground for boys of Harlem and the Bronx ever since he was little fel- low himself. This spot is at Ogden avenue, in which Willie lived, and less than quarter of mile away from his house.
 Cromwell's Creek runs north and south, with short bend which sends it into the Harlem at right angles. It is an inlet of the river, and the water, which is about twenty feet deep at the low draw of the New York and Northern railroad, becomes shallower until. a mile away, where the so- called creek begins, there is nothing but q mud flat.
 About 800 feet east of the Harlem ,s c. L. afiller's brickyard, and all the navigation that disturbs the stream is that of brick scows, lighters and small tugs that occasionally move between the brickyard and the river. Along | this stretch of 800 feet there is q wharf about ten feet above the water at high tide. It was here that tne body was found.
 About noon yesterday James Gar field, who is employed to swing the railroad draw when craft enters or leaves the creek opened his draw to let out steam lighter. The usually placid waters of the little inlet were churned up by the screw of the lighter, and the heavy rains of the preceding few hours had added to the disturb anee.
 About 2.30 o'clock the bridge tender saw something floating on the water, partially submerged, and about 400 feet from his bridge and midway be- tween the Harlem river and the brick yard. He walked along the wharf and soon discovered it was the body of boy, fully dressed and floating face down.
 Garfield called Patrolman Charles Francis of the East 152d street police station, who is detailed on the Central bridge, and the two shouted to couple of men in boat, who were fish, ing in the rain further up the creek. These men are named on the police blotter as Robert Boyd and Isidore Wagner, both living in No 644 East 145th street.
 The fishermen were directed to the floating body, and secured it with q hook, then slowly towed it to the brick yard It was taken ashore there, and every one believed at once that the mystery of missing Willie McCormick had been solved at last. Before word could be sent to the Mccormick house hold Mir Mccormick and Carmelita, his daughter, came to the brick yard. They had been informed i'll wonder fully quick time, through Mrs Frank L. Tierney, who was crossing the Gen. tral Bridge and saw from distance the recovery of the body.
 Mrs Tierney lives two doors away from the AIcCormicks. She and her little son Launcelot are the last per sons who saw Willie alive-and whose stories can be ebelieved-afterh he left his fathers house at o'clock on the even- ing of Wednesday, March 21, Mrs Tierney. who was on her way to mar ket, said afterward that her heart al- most stood still when she saw a body being lifted from the water to the brick yard. and instinct told her the truth at once. Before walking to the scene she went to the nearest telephone and telephoned to her house.
 ''Launcelot," she said to her own little boy on the other end of the wire. run into the McCormicks and tell l them that they've found Willie in Cromwell's Creek Mrs Tierney said l afterward that she told her son to "break the news gently" but she isn't sure that Launcelot heard this in his excitement over the first part of the message.
 At any rate, the small boy blurted |