Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-27
KIDNAPPED CHILD
TELLS HER STORY
MARIA MARTINEZ TAKEN TO
SAN DIEGO
Police Puzzled by Romantic Tale
OF Adventures of Little Girl
Authorities Try to Solve
Mystery

Special to The Herald
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26.-A mysterious
and as yet unexplained occurrence Of
the week Just passed was enacted be-
tween trains on Friday when a young
woman arrived from Los Angeles, ac-
companied by child of about or
years. She took the child in haste to
the Children's home, where she left 1t.
She gave the name of Helen Rush, but
the child she left at the home says
her name was Alice Rose.
The circumstances of the case were
called to the attention of Chief of Po-
lice Thomas who had Mrs. Rush or
Mrs. Rose brought to the station,
where she was questioned as to the
child. she declared that the child was
given to her by man and his wife at
Santa Paula, who wanted her to bring
1t to San Diego with her, as she was
coming this way on business. She
would give no further explanation and
declared that she did not have to an
swer the questions propounded by the
CHltl IL slit ulu HOb NbhN We
The officers had no. right to detain
her and she left on the next train for
Los Angeles, having been nowhere but
to the Children's home and the police
station, showing quite plainly, the po-
lice say. that what the woman said
about business was not true and that
her only business here was to leave the
child at the home.
Police Follow Clues
The police went to work on what
little clues she had dropped and they
have learned that the couple at Santa
Paula from whom the woman claims
to have received the child is the same
couple with which the Rose or Rush
woman left the child a few months
ago, when she claimed to have taken
it from a Catholic institution in Los
Angeles.
The little girl is evidently of Span
ish Mexican or Central American
birth The little one tells quaint
story of her own which, being inter-
preted from the Spanish, is to the eff
feet that she has been kidnapped. She
said that she had lived in Honduras
and that her mother had died there.
Afterward her godmother, whom she
called "Castora Mara" brought her
to the United States. The woman mar
ried man named Dominquez and they
lived for a long time in Los Angeles
The girl could not tell how long, as
she could supply no dates other than
1.-THE day that Santa Claus came" From
all that can be gathered from the
child's talk Dominguez was connected |
with the railroad in some way as train
crier.
Child Describes kidnapping
The child says her name was Maria
Martinez when she was in Honduras |
and all the time she was with her god
mother in Los Angeles. Once she was
sent to get some milk at the grocery |
store and as she was passing pile of
lumber the woman who brought her |
here stepped out and took her by the
hand. She was taken to house, |
where she was left short time, and |
was then taken to another house, |
where a woman named Jones was liv- |
ing. AS soon as she was taken inside |
this house the blinds We're all closed. |
her hair was cut short and she was |
given new clothing. all the clothing |
that she had been wearing being taken !,
away and burned.
Soon after that, the child says, she |
was taken to Santa Paula, where she
was left with Mr.. and Mrs. Easley to
be taken care of for s. per week. The |
girl remained there until last Thurs
day. when this same woman came
after her and brought her to this city
on Friday.
The woman said that the childs name
was Ramona Carey" but the child
herself declares that Maria Martinez
was her name before she met Mrs.
Rose and Mrs. Jones. They told her
that they proposed to teach her to
speak English and that Ramona
Carey was the English of Maria Mar
tinez On being assured that such was
not the case she declared with spirit
that she would not be Ramona"
Some persons who have been inter
esting themselves in Maria and her
story express the opinion that she may
have been abducted in mistake for
some other child and that for fear of
the mistake being discovered it was
decided to bring the child here as the
easiest way to get rid of her The Off
GERS have not given up their efforts
to unravel the mystery.