The sun., 1901-04-03
RANSOM FOR MISSING BOY.
STRANGE CASE or WILLIE HC0RMIck'
LOST ALMOST A WEEK.

AWAY to the Whd weN S"""'
n will he one week to- night since Willie
Mccormick. aged 10. started from his father
house In ogden avenue. High Bridge. TO go
TO the Church VI the Sacred Heart walk of
nbout ten minutes His two sisters had gone
on ahead and he was TO overtake them on the
way. From that moment he disappeared.
and the city far and wide had been searched
for him In vain Opinion as to whether ne
ran away or was kidnapped Ia divided WIN
the police as uncertain which theory 10 adopt
as are o.e who best knew the boy, MS famIv
and tho conditions Of his disappearance
Yesterday capt Cannon. with Supt NC
CURE Of Wilies school. and seven boys
willie's playmate,, went TO Madison souare
Garden thinking he might have been iureo
there by the attractions OF tho VIVA west
show They searched the audience minutey.
hut found no trace Of him Then they went
through the cheap lodging houses In the
Bowsrv with the same result Last evening
Capt Cannon and two more Of Wtllie's play
mates, who went along as did the others TO
identify him. made another search OF the
Garden and walked down through the Bow
ery on 20 city Hall Park and up Broadway.
Again the search vas in vain
Mr. and Mrs Mccormick are III from grief
and anxiety and are under doctors care
The final blow which pro strated them came
In the shape Of a threatening letter which
brutally told them that unless sum OF money
we're left In place mentioned the child wonid
10 MANNED and tortured 10 death
There are those who believe this to be .
heartle.s hoax The police are uncertain
They laid tran and watched the place ap-
pointed for the money deposit with no result
l.yl .,fh ~ Aata fxya
on, for four days with the result that Just
ons clue has been turned up which Capt.
Titus last night regarded as promising
Il was Detective r O'Connell who got
track or this possible solution Of the myr-
tory John Murray. a conductor OF Bay
Ridge car. running from the Thirty-ninth
street ferry via Bay Ridge 10 Coney Island
told Detective O'Connell that he saw and
talked with q hoy on his car last Thursday
morning. who In every way answered the
description Of the missing william McCor-
mick
The boy got on nv car Just before left
Thirty-ninth street a. llI5 on Thursday
morning" the conductor told the detective
Il didn't pay much attention 70 him until
we got down about New Utrecht and then |
began questioning him lie didn't need any
pumping He said he had run away from
his home. which wa~ AT lad street and Eighth
avenue, where his father Was florist He
said he left because h" wanted 10 go down
where the Wild West show was at Ambrose
Park He said he got there all right and
STAYED there all day "Wednesday and all We'd
nesday night. but that he got afraid TO stay
there because another boy who was there
got shot in the eye on "Wednesday night
He left the place the next morning. ne
said and thought hr would GO down where
the horses were Ie did not LAY anything
about Shpepshesd Bay. hut he seemed 10
know where the horses were all right lie
rode with me to Surf avenue and Eighth
stree, There he got of and | saw no more
Of him ] have seen u picture Of the McCor-
mick boy in the newspapers and am sure
the boy who rode with me is The original
Of the pictures ! saw
That j. all the information Conductor
Murray could give and Capt. rItus's men
are still searching the SheeUshead Bay stables
and Conev Island generally for further traces
Of the missing boy capt Titus also caused
INQUIRIES % he made at Ambrose Park about
the shooting accident Conductor Murray 3
boy passenger described The police OF
that precinct had heard Of no such acci-
dent, but might Waterman OF the Wild
West Show told the DETECTIVES that he had
heard .somethins about somebody bein =
shot within the boundaries of Ambrose Park.
and had also heard that the wound was tr-
finy The business manager Of the Wild West
Show, to whom all accidents are reported.
said last night that he had heard ~ no shoot
ing.
Assuming that the boy either lied or that
there was some mistake about his spending
all Of Wednesday a. Ambrose Park, said
Capt Titus "it would be easily possible for
h.m, II he be the Mccormick boy To- get 20
Ambrose Park the night he left home and
TO sleep there Capt Cannon Of Highhridge
informs me that the boys father gives IS
o'clock a. the tine when the boy left the
house TO go TO church He could easily get
20 Ambrose Park IN two hours Ihey would
take him in and give him food and a blanket
20 sleep in at the Park If he told yarn about
having no home ant was the bright voungs ter
that this Mct ormiCk bOv is descT.he to me
as being And they would look after hm
too. under the same conditions. at the train
ing stables My men are stll working On
that end Of the Investigation, and besides.
! have a man who has gone out OF town on
the case have not yet heard from him
and so can say nothing about whore he went
Aside from the discrepancy sbout Conduc-
tor MIrrays hoy being at Ambrose Park
all Of Wednesday, when tho Mccormick boy
was at home al that day there are other
things which throw some shade OF doubt
about the Identification Conductor Murray
says he knew the boy from he picture he saw
This picture was newspaper picture TO
begin with IL also made from photo
graph taken two years ago. when Willie
Mccormick wae wears old The average
newspaper portrait even when there are
strong characteristics about the face repre-
.ented. is often 20 far away from tho reality
that the subjects own mother wouldn Z
know him How faithfully such picture
would represent the smooth indefinite faos
Of just ar ordinary, everyday boy Years
old is matter of opinion
What vs. more important n Conductor
Nurray's Identification IL his statement that
the clothes his hoy passenger wore are Ike
those worn by the McCurmick hoy g brown
checked -ui, \ small checked cap, iared
shoes and auickerhockers The tact tha.
both Conductor Nurray'~ boy and the McCor-
mick boy had blue eyes and light hair il mot
~ srerIal interest vaat number ~ bows
have blue cyo- and hght halr
II is the Hrr1 hrurf or Nj Ne, ormick and
Of some ~ his nojyhhor. NAT his hoy was
kidnapped A, confirming this theory Nj
McCormlct r"r"',od 'nropgh tie mail ON
Monday I"'t"r and postal oard signed