The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-02-09
BODY IS STOLEN
FROM MAUs0lEUM
Ghouls Wreck Interior oil Vault,
Carry on Remains of Wealthy wo-
man and Hold II for Ransom,

ERIE. Pa, Feb. 9.-The entire Erie
police force, assisted by a horde oil
detectives. is making a house 10
house search OF Erie and the sur
rounding country TO locate the ghouis
who looted the magnificent Scott
mausoleum In the local cemetery. IL
is now considered certain that the
body OF Mrs. McCullom. formerly MISS
Tracy. member of prominent Phila-
delphia family. and a sister-in-iaw Oh
the late William l.. Scott, has peen
carried away. although the ponce
cemetery officials and members Oh the
family refuse 10 make public any in'
formation about the case.
From what can be learned MIS-
McCullom's body was taken Tor ran
som, but whether an actual demand
for money has been made on the ram
ily cannot be learned. The interior
of the mausoleum was wrecked by the
robbers. all OF the crypts having been
broken open and the lids OF three OF
the collins smashed TO see whose body
was within.
The mausoleum was ~ne OF the nm
est of the country. II is built or
white marble, with great bronze
doors, and heavy iron gates. The dis
covery that IL had been broken into
was made by chance. A woman VS.
itor discovered one OF the gates aJar.
She touched the bronze door and II
fell inward with a crash. having been
lifted from it's hinges. The demol-
In nlnin view
and the cemetery onicials were no
tined. They sent for Mrs. Charles III.
Strong, daughter Of William l.. Scott
and the police. Mrs. Strong engaged
private detectives at once TO work
with the police.
Investigation showed that the rob
bers had chiseled on the locks OF the
bronze doors and then forced an en-
trance. Mrs. McCullom's comm was
gone. II is believed that the tomb
was broken into at least week ago.
That there must have been a number
of men on the job. is certain. as the
conn was very heavy and was en-
cased In hammered copper
The Strong and Scott families are
the wealthiest in this section OF the
state. william l.. Scott came here
from washington when he was IL
years old and amassed a great fortune
through his uoal and railroad inter
ests. He. served two terms In con-
gress from 1884 to 1888. and died In
Newport, r. l., on Sept 10. 1891.
Charles II. Strong, whose wife was
a daughter OF Mr. Scott. is president
of the Erie & Pittsburg railroad. the
Erie County Electric Light Co., ana
the owner OF two newspapers. The
family has instructed the police and
detectives that no effort Is to be
spared in recovering the body and
tracking down the ghouls. That other
bodies were to have been carried away
Is one Of the theories OF the poll ,.
The niche in which the caskets con
tanning Mr.. Scott and his wife lay side
by side, had been broken open and
the one containing Mrs. SCOTS body
hauled partly out. II Is believed that
the robbers planned TO carry away
both these caskets but were fright.
ened away.
One theory that the police are
working on IL that Italians were con-
cerned in the ghoulish work. There
In an italian settlement near the cem-
etery, but search Of the houses there
has SO far failed to develop any clue.
The fact that the family received
letters signed Black Hand" demand
ing $4,000 with the alternative OF
having their summer home blown to
pieces some ,wo years ago, adds
strength to this theory. The perpe-
traitors were later arrested, tried and
convicted and are now serving term
in the penitentiary for their attempted
extortion. The antecedents OF the
men concerned in this crime, are now
being looked into.