The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-21
CAN JOIN WOMAN
( At HIS LEISURE
Elton F. Luckey, Who EIoped
With Mrs. May Griffith,
Given His Freedom.

Another chapter. probably the final one
so far as Ogden is concerned, in the ro-
mantle elopement Of Elton F. Iuckey and
Mrs. May Griffith of Dixon, H., was
added during Saturday night, when
Luckey was given his liberty and allowed
to resume his journey. which was inter
rupted by his arrest here, to Join the
woman in Los Angeles.
Luckey, up to a short time ago, was a
prosperous farmer near Dixon, Ill. He
is now about 80 years of age. Since at
tanning his majority he has been able TO
lay by quite neat sum of money, and II
was probably this fact as much as any
thing else that induced the pretty young
wife OF young business man of the same
place to agree to run away with him and
desert her husband and 2-year-old child.
Living in the same neighborhOod, the
couple had known each other since child
mood. The man was more than ten years
the womans senior. and when he saw
her at the age of IL become the wife of
another he deplored the fact that he had
not Vwooed and won her for himself. Later
on the acquaintance between the two be-
gan TO grow more intimate, and as the
husband Of the woman did not treat her
kindly the seed for the eloDement was
sOwn.
Young and Handsome.
The woman in the case is Mrs May
Griffith. She has two things in her IA
Nor-beauty and youth. The other essen
tials TO the plan were love and money,
and these Luckey possessed. The fact
that she had an infant child did not cause
her to hesitate when Luckey proposed
the elopement after hearing her complain
of her husbands treatment
- few days after the decision to elOpe
had been reached the little Illinois town
was startled by the report that Mrs.
Griffith had disappeared and at the same
time Luckey had left for parts unknown.
The people who interested themselves in
the case traced the runaway pair to Chi
cago. where they boarded the Los An
geles Limited for Los Angeles.
warrant was sworn out for Luckey.
In fact, there were two warrants, and the
sheriff at Ogden was telegraphed 10 in
tercept the couple here. On Friday
night they were taken from their berth
on the Limited and placed in the county
Jail At that time Luckey pleaded ignor-
ance as to why he could be wanted and
expressed a willingness to return without
papers. When alone Mrs. Griffith told
the sheriff that she had eloped with the
fellow after deserving her husband and
child.
Compelled to Let Him Go.
on the day following the arrest, Luckey,
through a local attorney, instituted ha-
beas corpus proceedings for his release.
The same day he gave Mrs. Griffith q
roll OF bills and told her TO continue or
her way to the coast and she did The
action of Luckey in appealing to the court
for his release was wired to the sheriff
AT DlAon- IL was thought ne surely
would be here with the proper warrants
by the time the application for a writ
of habeas corpus was called in the dis
trict court this morning. Instead of this,
all parties to the affair were surprised
when a telegram was received that the
Dixon authorities were unable to get the
necessary papers and suggested that he
be released. The applics ton for the writ
apparently had its effect.
Accordingly, Luckey was released early
Sunday morning and he at once took a
train for Los Angeles, following close
upon the trail of Mrs. Griffith. On the
strength OF the Woman's confession here
a warrant had been prepared against
Luckey charging him with a statutory
offense, but this was not served.