The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-10
HIS FATE IS A MYSTERY
DISAPPEARANCE OF CHARLES IL.
kELLAR FROM GLENWOOD, WIS,
NEVER CLEARED UP
WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN
Young MRn Was Short $500 in His
Accounts with Uncle Sam-Detec-
tiVes Have Never Found
Il Trace of Him.

GLENWOOD, Wis, Feb. 9.-tSpeciaD-
Ten months ago next Friday, Chas H.
kellar, assistant postmaster, disappeared
II the earth had opened and swallowed
him unseen of men, the mystery of his
Vanishment could have been no greater.
There are probably few parallels in the
history of Wisconsin of this strange case.
kellar for years had been one OF the
most trusted and apparently trustworthy
young men in these parts. He had been
assistant postmaster and pharmacist at
Downing; had served as secretary or
treasurer in several of the leading secret
societies in both this city and Downing;
was serving the City of Glenwood his
second term as city clerk and justice of
the peace; and at the time of his dis
appearance was the trusted assistant of
Postmaster Peterson in the Glenwood
postofice, locking after all the details of
office work and handling all the cash.
Besides this ne was one of the proprie-
tors of the leading confectionery of the
place. His word was considered as good
as his bond, and there wasn't a man IN
the city who would not have trusted
Charter Kellar to almost any amount
within reason. This was the exact situa-
ton of affairs when on one blImy even
ing i'll April as the waters of the melted
= winter SHOWS were rushing down the hill
sides all through the picturesque Glen
wood region, a rostoffice inspector enter
ed the Glenwood Office unheralded and
asked Mr.. Kellar to turn over the cash
and books of account to him. This he
did and then went to supper. He was
seen by several about town that evening,
but the postofice knew him no more.
He was last seen about o'clock in Il
saloon, where he borrowed $40, and slice
that hour to this day not the faintest
trace or clue has ever been obtained as
to his wherea bouts. Diligent search was
made for days, some entertaining the
idea, from the fact that for several days
before his disappearance he had been
sick, that he had committed suicide, but
all efforts to find him or his body proved
fruitless. Not an ink ing of what be-
came of him is known in these parts.
An investigation of his accounts with the
government showed them to be more tn n
500 short, which sum was promptly made
good by the postmaster. 1t then de-
veloped that during the previous year or
two he had been secretly engaged in
gambling, losing heavily at times at the
pOker-table, but even had this been
known when his shortage was discovered
there were twenty men in Glenwood VINO
would gladly have made up the deficit
to save his honor and give him chance
to make a new start in life. But he
kept matters strictly to himself, and con-
sequently when the critical hour had
come no hand was outStretched to save
him from ruin and disgrace. The &C.
nouncement came like "a thunder clap
from clear sky, people for a day or
two being scarcely able to realize what
had happened and even to this dav there
are those who find it hard to believe that
Charley Kellar really did run away with
between $500 and $500 of government
money. Later the jury in the United
States court at Madison found an indict-
ment against him, and it may be that
one day Uncle Sans sleuths who never
give up the chase while the Quarry is
living and uncaught, will get him in
their clutches, but ten months have failed
to bring to light any trace of where he
went to, how he got out of town. what
became of him, or where he Is today, II
living. Rumors have been in c.rcul alton
that he rode blind baggage on the night
limited to Eau Claire and was seen the
the next day, and from there went to the
City of Mexico, but all this is rumor and
can be traced to no authentic source. In
a word the disappearance of Charley
Ross and the mystery of his fate were
no more complete than that Of Charley
Kellar. Kellar was an unmarried man,
of medium size, sallow complexion and
quite demeanor. He was liked by every
body and particularly admired because
of the fact that though weakly in body
and in poor circumstances in mis- boyhoCd
days, he had manfully worked his way up
by earnest and persevering effort to an
honored place in the community and to
responsible positions of trust in the bust
ness and social world