The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-31
NU[STROM MAY
EXPL AIN MYSTERY
Foul Play Is Charged in Disap-
pearance of His Cabin
Mate.

Where is Olaf Nuestrom? Last
week he was the guest of F. w. Gret-
ton, % Washington avenue north. Now
he is supposed to be in North Dakota.
The exact locality is unknown to his
late host, but NueStrom is an old ac-
quaintance of Gretton, and the latter is
anxiously endeavoring to locate him.
The point of the whole affair is that
there was man named Charles A
Fink, of Manhattan, 178 Franklin
street. He met his death on the steam
er Hekla four days out of Christiana,
Norway, two weeks ago. One of his
roommateS was Nuestrom and the
other was an unknown Bostonian.
Nuestrom has been resident in
South Dakota for good many years,
but just what part of the state he lives
in Gretton does not know. When Nue.
strom arrived here he spent day and
a night with Gretton and while here
told of the mysterious disappearance of
his cabin mate on the steamer Hekla.
He told Gretton that Fink was all
right at dinner on the evening of July
Is, and that in the morning of July IA
he was missing. No trace of the miss
ing man was afterwards discovered,
and it was accepted as a fact by the
ships officers that he had either COM
mitted suicide by jumping overheard
or had inadvertently fallen over the
rail when no help was near.
When Nuestrom was in New York
there was no suspicion of foul play,
but since he left the brother of Fink
has claimed his effects, and it has been
found that underclothes apparently
worn by the dead man were blood COW
cred. John A. Fink has notified the
New York police that he believes his
brother was murdered and thrown over
the side. Suspicion appears to attach
most closely to the two men who were
Fink's cabin mates across the Atlantic,
but neither of them can be found at
present.
The New York Herald of July 26 con-
tains statement of the case as it ap-
pears to the police of New York city,
and search is now being made for the
men who were Fink's companions du
voyage, who were permitted to escape
in the first misunderstanding of the
tragedy
In his statement of the circumstances
to Mr.. Gretton, NueStrom said that he
had no idea what could have become of
Fink, who was in good spirits the night
before his disappearance and by no
means the sort of fellow who might be
expected to seek his own life. Nue.
strom did not know at the time that
bloodstained clothing had been discov
cred or that there was anything to
suggest that Fink had met with foul
play.
"The only acquaintance 1 have with
NueStrom,' said Mr.. Gretton last night,
'is that which was formed several
years ago when 1 first met him at
Aberdeen He told me that he was
seeking an opportunity for investment
and We talked over the probability of
profit in. starting sign and paint shop
in Aberdeen, but it came to nothing.
Since that Nuestrom has been in Min
neapolis several times and 1 have
maintained a friendship with him. He
is fine fellow and well off. 1 do not
believe for a minute that there is any
thing in connection with this tragedy
that he will not be able to explain sat
iSfactorily so far as he is concerned.
He told me that he had never seen the
Boston man who was a partner in the
cabin with Fink, until they were
thrown together by the exigencies of
travel"
Nuestrom left Minneapolis on Satur-
day last bound for Aberdeen. Where
he went for there it is impossible to
conjecture. Mr.. Gretton says that
Nuestrom is certain to communicate
with the authorities in New York as
soon as he learns that his name is
being associated with the ocean trag-
edy. In the meantime Mr.. Nuestrom
is being sought by the New York po-
lice as a possible avenue of eXplana-
ton. The HelIla mystery is one that
has rather piqued the metropolitan
force.
The captain and purser of the Hekla
both say that they had no idea there
was anything but a probable suicide
involved in the Fink disappearance
and they are at loss to explain how
blood came to be on the mans clothing
found in the cabin.