The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-25
Makes His Way Out of the County
IaiI Unobserved.
Joe Levigne Gives Deputy AldrIch the
Slip This Morning.
Was in Corridor Doing Work, When
He Got Away.
Search Fails to Locate Him, but His
Recapture Expected.
From Wednesdays Daily.

Joe Levigne made his escape from the
county Jail at Sis o'clock this morning
He was one of the three young men who
were awaiting the action of the grand
| jury on the charge of burglarizing a
couple of farm houses near Garden CITY
and Amboy.
Sheriff Williams had left the Jail at
7:4O a. m. to take the train for Vernon
Center to serve some papers, and the Jail
was in charge of Deputy Sheriff Fred
Aldrich. The latter went to the second
story of the Jail, where the three prison
ers mentioned have been confined by
themselves, and allowed them to 90 into
the corridor outside of the cell room,
in order to sweep and clean up. He neg
lected to lock the door that leads from
the corridor down stairs, but remained in
the corridor with the boys, seeing that
they did their work properly.
While the boys were working, Mr.. AL
drich went half way around the corridor
to see that the work had been done as
directed, and it was then that young
Levigne slipped out of the door, closing
it behind him. 1t was several minutes
before Mr.. Aldrich noticed the absence of
the boy, and then he asked the others
where he was. They did not reply, and
this put Mr.. Aldrich on his guard, and
he at once locked the other two prisoners
up and gave the alarm. He notified the
police and the other deputy sheriffs and
telephoned to number of the surround
ing towns, and notified the railroad train
crews to be on the lookout for the es-
capped prisoner.
Chief Donahue, Geo. Atchison, Martin
Wiltgen and A. d. Little searched the
barns and premises near the jail and the
ravines to the east and all the roads lead
ing out of the city toward the east.
Their search was fruitless, and no trace
of the missing prisoner could be found,
unless it was a fresh footprint made in
a ravine with the distinct mark of
SOCK 1t might be that the young man
removed his shoes to more quietly
get out of the jail. A farmer also saw
a young man walking rapidly east over
the bluff between eight and nine o'clock,
but he was not near enough to get a
good description.
Levigne is twenty years of age, and
has a swarthy complication, with a two
weeks growth of beard. When he left
he wore pair of light brown corderoy
trowsers, a black shirt and a black soft
hat. He had no coat or vest.
Sheriff Williams decided upon his re-
turn to the city this afternoon to offer
reward of $50 for the arrest of the
prisoner, and will so notify the officers
in surrounding towns.
Deputy Sheriff Aldrich states that he
has had the three prisoners in the corri
dor before. 1t has sometimes been Gus
tomary to allow the prisoners to go out
to assist in the work about the Jail,
and the practice has been followed for
years.
Sheriff Williams was aware that the
three prisoners were very slippery and he
himself took no chances with them. Not
long ago he found several articles in
their possession, with which they were
evidently planning to saw their way out.
He feels very badly over the escape of
one of them, and this feeling is equally
shared by Deputy Sheriff Aldrich. The
latter personally offers half of the re-
ward that is up for the arrest of Levigne.
The escaped prisoner is thought to be
hiding near by until night, and his cap
ture within day or two is looked for.