The San Francisco call., 1908-08-04
RFVALk'S LETTER TO
SPARKS YANISH[S
Last Words of Poisoned Youth
Disappear and Mystery Of
Death Deepens
Young Neyadan Arrives in City,
but Declares He Has
Not the Paper

Ihe letter written by Vernal Revalk
just before his death and by which it
was hoped to clear away the mysteries
surrounding the suicide of the young
student suddenly disappeared yester-
day. Where it went no one seemed to
know. Leland Sparks, the son of the
late governor of Nevada, to whom it
was addressed. declared on his arrival
in San Francisco yesterday morning
that he had not received it. The. par
ents knew nothing OF 1t, the friends
were equally ignorant and John Fitz-
gerald, a detective on the local police
force, detailed to run the mystery down,
was again pitched into a chaos Of sur
misses and theories, utterly at sea-
This unexpected twist in the work
fngs of the case made all the deeper
the peculiarities and mysteries of the
death. When it became known that a
letter had been mailed to Sparks at
Reno. New, a telegram was sent to
him by Revalk's father asking him to
bring it to San Francisco. On Sun
day afternoon DIR. A. B. McGill, the
physician of the Revalk family and one
of its closest friends, stated that Sparks
had replied to the fathers telegram
saying that he had received the letter
and would either send it or bring it
down to San Francisco Monday morn
ing.
AS the letter contained the last
words penned by the boy and more than
probably explained the reason for his
act, Detective Fitzgerald rested on his
oars, waiting until the document was
laid before him. Sparks came in on
the early train. He was met by an
automobile and rapidly driven away. He
acted as pail bearer at Revalk's funeral
and, following 1t, disappeared. AT noon
Captain Kelly te1ephoned the Revalk
residence asking if Sparks had arrived
and was told that he had not. On be-
ing informed. however, that Sparks
was in.town he told Fitzgerald to go to
the house and learn the contents of the
letter. He returned to the station
four or five hours later saying he had
learned nothing.
The letter, however, had disappeared
Jack Schweister, the dead boys closest
friend declared that he had asked
Sparks for it and was told that it had
not been delivered. Revalks other
companions made similar statements.
Despite the statements of Sparks and
Fitzgerald the common belief was that
the letter was delivered and that the
newly fiedged mystery was nothing
more than a distinct effort to suppress
it's contents. An effort will be made
by the coroner's jury which meets next
Thursday, to have it produced. Though
there is but little doubt that the boy
took his own life, so great is the mys-
terry surrounding the death and so
contradictory have been the statements
of those interested. that the coroner'S
office came to the conclusion that it had
no other recourse than complete in
vestigation. This would be welcomed
by those parties with whom the boy
came In contact on the night of his
death and over whom a cloud of suspi-
cion was cast by the charges of foul
play made by the boys father and 9TH
ers when the death was discovered.
A thousand and one theories were ap-
piled to the case yesterday. With some
1t was a love affair, with others de-
spondency brought on by absinthe
drinking, with others, due to the work
ings of secret society. But the only
definite point about the whole affair
was that a dead boy had been discov-
cred in q hack. All the rest was sur
mise built on incidents, most of them
well founded, but lacking convincing
proof. The letter which would explain
the death had vanished.
The remains of Vernal Revalk were
cremated at Odd Fellows cemetery yes
terday morning. The pail bearers were
his classmates and boy friends. The
mother was unable TO bear up through
the ceremony and was led away IN d
half fainting condition.