The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-10-15
Wife of Frank CIope Long Missing
Thinks Body Found Sunday
Was Her Husbands
IDENTIFIED BY CLOTHING
Body is Exhumed on Monday Evening
in Order to Give Better Assurance
of the Identity of Dead Man
Has Long Been Missing

While a positive Identification may
be impossible it is now thought that
the portion of the body of a dead man
found in the Riley woods on Sunday
is the gruesome remnants of the body
Of Frank Clope, former well known
Racine man, who has been missing
from his home in that city since May
% of this year. Mrs. Clope came to
Kenosha Oh Monday afternoon and
after looking at the shoes and portions
Of the clothing of the dead man she
expressed herself as certain that the
remains were those Of her husband.
The body was eXhumed and other in
vestigations made and these seem to
confirm the belief in The solution of
the mystery. This morning Mrs. Clope
and six members of the Racine chapter
Of he Royal League of which Clope
was member came to Kenosha bring
ing with them shoes and clothing which
had belonged to Clope and these seem
to confirm the Identification The
shoes Showed that Clope had the same
sort of a bunion as the man who was
found and the coat is of exactly the
same material as the pants found on
the body. Mrs. Clope described the
underwear worn by her husband at the
time Of his disappearance and it cor
responds to the minutest detail with
that found hanging to the body of the
dead man.
Clope left his home IN Racine on the
morning Of May % with the announce
ment that he was going fishing He has
never been heard from since. A few
days before he left Racine his son, I,
S. Clope, had been arrested in Kenosha
on charge of having moulds for maxi
ing money in his possession. The ar
rest of the boy weighed heavily on the
mind of Clope and at the time Of his
disappearance it was alleged that he
had shown signs Of weaking of his
mental faculties.
The man at the tine Of leaving home
had considerable money in his pocket
and a valuable gold watch and chain,
but no trace Of the watch and chain
was found with the body The of
ficials Of Racine have been seeking
Clope in all parts Of the country, but
nothing was ever found of him. He
had always been a man devoted to his
home, and his wife declared this morn
ing that he had never been known to
stay away from home before. Mrs.
Clope declares that she thinks her hus-
band was murdered and robbed She
insists that notwithstanding the fact
that he had worried over the arrest
of the son, he would not have taken his
own life. Her theory is that he got
on one Of the chicago and Milwaukee
cars and left it south of Kenosha with
the view of going to the lake to fish.
Clope was an employe of the Mitchell
Company in Racine for more than
twenty years and was well known to
many people in Racine. He was forty
nine years of age and his wife and
daughter are still living in Racine. I.
S. Clope, the son is now employed at
the Simmons factory in this city.
Committees representing the Racine
chapters Of the Royal League, Equita-
BILE Fraternal Union and the Modern
Woodmen Of America went to the
cemetery before noon and the remains
were again exhumed. The men on
their return from the cemetery stated
that they were convinced that the re-
mains were those of Clope.
The dead man carried insurance ag-
gregating $4,000 in the three organiza-
tons and it is probable that the mem
bers Of the committees will direct that
this be paid to the proper benefciaries.
The members Of the committee de
clined to make any statement as to
their opinion as to the manner in which
the man met his death, but all Of them
asserted that there were some peculiar
facts in regard to the case that led
them to believ that that the man was
murdered Mrs. Cloper is seemingly
satisfied with the Identification and she :
probably have the mutilated re-
mains taken to Racine for burial in
the family plat there.