The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-07-26
MRS. HODGE Is
IN SAFE HIDING
The Murder Suspect Cannot Be
Located.
NEGLIGENCE OF OFFICERS
DENISoN POLICE GUILTY OF
GROSS CARELEssNEss.
NEGLIGENCE OF OFFICERS

Des Moines. Ia. July 25.-The sheriff
has not been able to locate Mrs. Ella
Hodge, who is wanted in salt Lake on
a charge of numbering William X
Ryan, a peddler of that city. She
vanished suddenly yesterday, and al
though every effort has been made to
learn her whereabouts, no clue has been
secured.
Mrs. Hodge is the adopted daughter
of a we'll to-do couple here. She is a
widow, nineteen years of age, and has
a brother in Denison. For some time
she has been employed in the telephone
exchange and has avoided questoners
who attempted to elicit from her in
formation touching her life in Utah.
In view of the disappearance of Mrs.
Hodge, Sheriff Emery is making pTepa-
rations TO send an officer 90 Iowa 20
follow her trail and attempt to capture
her. 1t is likely. it is stated that Dep
uty Sheriff Burbidge viii leave the city
today for Denison. He will go there and
erdeavor to find a clue that will lead
to the discovery of her present where
abouts. If this can be done he Will
follow her until she is captured.
II is the opinion of the local officers
that Mrs. Hodge has slipped away fur
, Their east and is probably in hiding in
! some small town where she is not
known. The local officers blame the
Denison authorities for the escape OF
the woman. They state that infOrma-
ton was wired TO Denison as soon as
Mrs. Hodge was located there for her
movements to be watched. They also
state that explicit orders were given
that she should not be allowed to es-
cape. Then when a complaint was
made here and a wire sent to DenisOn
for her arrest the word came back that
| she had gone and left no trace as to
her whereabouts. For this reason the
officers here believe that the DenisOn
officers were lax in following out the
instructions given them.
Working Up Evidence.
In the meantime, however, the local
authorities are engaged in working up
! all the evidence against Mrs. Hodge
/ that can be found. They have sue
| ceeded in learning from another woman
/ who was In the CrittentOn home at the
/ same time as Mrs. Hodge that about
| the time Ryan left Ogden, Mrs. Hodge
prepared for her a hat that resembled
/ a gypsy hat and corresponds to the
/ description given of the hat worn by
( the woman who was seen to join Ryan
/ at Becks hot springs. 1t was also
/ learned from the same woman mat
I Mrs. Hodge was in the habit of carry
| ing a small revolver hidden in her
clothing and knew how to use it.
/ Deputy Sheriff Burbidge returned
| yesterday from Rigby, Ida, where the
band Of gypsies supposed to have been
camping with Ryan were under ar
/ rest. He found in the party the red
! headed gypsy that was described by
! several parties but he was unable tC
/ learn from the nOmads anything that
would throw any light on the murder
! according TO the statement of the Of
/ ficer the gypsies were able to give q
clear story of their movements while
they were in the vicinity of Salt Lake
and he is convinced that they knew
nothing of the crime of which they
( We're suspected.
Further efforts to capture gypsies
/ will be abandoned and everything pos
sible will be done to locate Mrs. Hodge
that she may be arrested and broughi
I back here to face the charge of muir
der preferred against her.