New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-08-03
THREE MISSING BOYS
FOUND DEAD IN CAVE-|N
Dog Leads to Spot in Williams
burg Where the Little
Bodies Lie.
DUG OUT BEFORE BIG CROWD
Two Were Brothers and the
Third Was Their Cousin
Disappeared Only
Day Before.

1
old, were found yesterday buried under
several tons of earth in an excavation
at Broadway and Howard avenue,
Williamsburg, for a new theatre.
So far neither the Coroner nor the po-
are investigating the circumstances,
| have any theory to account for the
deaths other than that a cave-in of part
| of the embaniSment on the Broadway
| side of the street caught the children
while they were playing.
The discovery was due to Alexander
Sullivan, eleven years old of No. 30
Howard avenue, Williamsburg. and his
| dog, Spot They went into the excava-
ton shortly before noon for a frolic.
The dog soon began to race around the
place and bark, and his little master
thought he was having the time of his
life, until Spot grabbed him by the
of sand. from which he saw the hand of
a boy protruding.
Little Sullivan lost no time in spread
ing the alarm. He ran into the Bush
wick Hospital. on the opposite side Of
the street, and there told of his find, and
while several doctors were Fastening 10
the spot he went to Broadway and Gates
avenue, where he gave the news to
Patrolman Hoffman, of the Ralph ave-
nue. station.
Diggers Set at Work.
Employees of the Edison Electric Light
Company digging a trench near by were
impressed into the work of digging for
the boy, and a call was sent to Fire
Headquarters. Hook and Ladder Com
pany 81 was soon on the scene, with
Deputy Fire Chief Gooderson, and within
a short time thereafter the body was re-
covered.
A crowd of several thousand persons
by this time had gathered. and a call
was sent to the Ralph avenue station for
the reserves. When Captain Shevlin ar
rived he remembered that general
alarm had been sent out in the morning
for three missing boys who lived in the
immediate neighborhood. He feared
that this was one of the three and that
the other two might have met the same
fate. The work of digging, therefore.
was kept up. and then before the eyes
of the multitude the second and third
bodies We're found.
Drs. Jayne, Lewis and Holden. of the
Bushwick Hospital raced with the body
of the first boy to the hospital, in hopes
that life was not extinct. but it was
found there that the boy had long been
dead.
The report of the bodies being found
spread rapidly through the neighbour
hood. and what with women nearly hys-
terical and a constantly increasing
crowd the police had a hard time, and
We're compelled to send to the nearby
stations for more men.
Identified by Aunt.
The police of the EaIph avenue station
had sent out a general alarm for three
missing boys earlier in the day, and with
this in mind and as each body tailed
with the description given Of the missing
children. they sent for Mrs. Carrie
Thompson, of No S23 Madison street
who had turned in the alarm. Her home
is within half a block from where the
bodies We're found. She was taken to
the BushwiCk Hospital, where at the
sight of the bodies she collapsed and had
to be treated by a physician. She iden-
tilted the boys as her nepheWs and gave
their names and ages, as follows:
John Sohn, six years old; Alfred Sohn,
nine years old, and Carroll Verhas. nine
year old, all of No. S23 Madison street.
The Sohn boys were brothers and Yer
has was their first cousin, who lived In
the same h6ase. with his grandmother,
Mrs. Bertha Sohn. who takes care of
several smaller children who have lost
their parents. Mrs. Thompson told the
police that the three children left the
house on Monday afternoon about 3
o'clock. saying they were going up the
block to play with several other chill
dren The relatives made a general
search all through Monday night for
them. going to the homes of relatives
and other places. in the belief that the
children had wandered away to spend
the afternoon or had become lost. When
it was found that they were not at the
homes of relatives the anxiety of the
family increased, as the boys had never
before stayed away from home.
Place Popular with Boys.
The place where the bodies were found
has been a favorite playground for the
boys of the neighborhoOd. Formerly
they used to play ball there, until the
theatrical syndicate decided to erect a
theatre on the site and started an exca-
walton, which they abandoned shortly
afterward Then the lads often used the
big hole for various kinds of sports
Coroner Edward Glinnen and his
DR.. Charles Wuest, were on
the scene shortly after the bodies were
and they said that in their
opinion the children never knew what
had struck them and had been suffo-
Gated before they could make an cutlery.
a report circulated that fourth body
was in the trench. 1t arose, Captain
Shevlin said. from misunderstanding
with the family and the failure to iden-
tify the boy Verhas, which led 10 a be-
lief that there was a fourth body in the
trench; but all the earth was turned over |
without further result.
The nature OF the accident was indi-
lated at the time the police stopped |
digging Immediately there was a muf- |
fed roar and a great mass of earth fell |
he trench JuliS Grave a