Omaha daily bee., 1912-06-12
BLOODH0UNDS FOLLOW TRAIL
Little Light Thrown on Wholesale
Murder at Villisca.
TRACK LEADS TO THE RIVER
Dogs Go Over Ground second Time
and II IN Now Thought Murderer
May Have Been Drowned
VIII Drag the Stream.

NILLlSCA, la, June H--(Speelal Tole
the six members of the Moore family an,
the two SEllinger girls here Sunday nigh
was ,stillea mystery here this afternoo,l
This morning the bloodhounds were agai,
taken to the, Moore house and they ag,il
| picked up the trail and for the seeoIh
time followed 1t through the wootls Il
the bank OF the west fork OF NodnMa,
river. The animals went aver identivall,
the same ground they traverscd YESTERDAY
and stopped at the same spot. They wer,
taken up and down the bank of the
stream for two miles. but were unabl,
to pick up the scent again.
VIII Drag stream.
1t Is thought that the murdercr ma,
have stepped into d deep hole in n.
stream and have been drowned. This
afternoon arrangements are being mad,
to drag the Stream. The work IL ir
charge of Harrison Kelso, an expert diver
from Creston,
\ reporter for Il Kansas City paper
who reported the murder Of five members
of the Snowman family at Ellsworth
Kan. last October. says the crime here
resembles in many details the killins IN
Kansas. In each case the victim was
killed with single blow Of an axe.
There is little hope that the lin .cr
prints will aid in finding the ,murdoi er.
but they may play a most important
part in fixing the crime upon him should
he be turned up by other means. N. ".
McLaughrey son Of the warden OF the
iedelal prison at Fort Luayenworth,
Kan, and finger print expert was here
th.s morning. He took copies of several
distinct p.ints. These were found on a
lamp chimney, a curtain, the axe and
the door.
A number Of people had aandl d some
of these articles before McLaughrey ar
rived. and he also took their finger
prints SO as II exclude those who Nigh,
have resulted from this handing. The
bt st print to be found was on kitchen
window shade. On this there was a dis
tinct imprint of thumb and index
finger evidently planted there when the
mul derer pulled down the shade.
Mr.. McLaughry returned tud1y to Fort
Leavcnwofth to develop the prints
All eight OF the victims atttnded the
children's exercises at the Presbyterian
church Sunday evening and wnen last
seen wele happy. One of the lltt boys
spoke piece the sentiment Of which
was that the Father watched the spar
rows and would likewise watch over him
FOur similar Crimes.
The murder of the Moore family is
strikingly similar to Il series of crimes
in the last year, which have remain ID
unsolved. Nearly the same methods
were used in the Hudson murder In
Paola. Kan, the Snowman killing In
Ellsworth Kan, the murder Of SIX per-
sons in Colorado Springs followed by
that Of W. h. Dawson his wife and
daughter In Monmouth, III. ..
In nearly each case an axe was the IN
strument If death so In every case each
person In the house was killed, ppar-
emily while asleep and with a single
blow OF the ", apon.F Revenge in every
Instance was seemingly the only motive.
w. L. Snowman. his wife and three
children werv-slain October. IL, 1911.
In the Colorado Springs tragedy two
families were slain. The bodies Of Alice
May Burnam, her year old son, John,
ans Henry Wayne, his wife. Blanche,
and thnir 2-year-old baby were found
- i4nir adjoining cottages.
Dawson was the earetaker of a church
in ,tonnout', Ill The a;edy was d s.
covered by committee OF deaco: s VII
visited Dawson's home 10 reprimand h.a
for failing to make the church ready fo,.
the Sunday services. After breaking in
the door they found the three bodies
each with the head crushed