New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-01-05
NO VIOLENCE SHOWN:
SUICIDE BELIEVED
identity Is Established
Through the Initials
"J.E. NJ" on Ring.
GONE SINCE DEC. a
Search Led Everywhere Family
of Dead Settlement Worker
Recognizes Belongings.

morning on the Coney Island beach
the body of Miss Jessie Evelyn Nc
Cam. George Mousse. watchman
employed by the Park Department.
found the battered, distorted and un-
recognizable thing on the wet sand Of
the little beach which the city owns
between West 9th street and Ocean
Parkway. 1t lay face downward, par
allel with the water line, and in the
half light of early morning looked like
a fat log deposited there by the reced-
ing tide, rocked from time TO time by
an ambitious wave.
But a second look convinced the
watchman that 1t would bear inspec-
ton. So he made his way against the
pelting rain to point about six feet
southeast of the abandoned shelter
house, where the body lay. Then he
knew that on this utterly desolate
morning in this wild setting he had
found "hoater."
He could not identify il, OF course,
for probably he had forgotten COM
pletely about the pretty Flatbush set
tlement worker who had disappeared
from her fathers home exactly month
before. And not even her mother could
have recognized her daughters body in
this ghastly relic which the severest
storm Of the season had cast up out Of
the depths. 1t was not until after the
body had been removed to the little
morgue opposite the Coney Island po-
lice station that any ono began to sus-
pect 1t would solve the mystery Of
Jessie McCann's disappearance.
Ring Establishes Identity.
Patrolman John Kelleher, to whom
Mousse had reported his find, removed
gold seal ring from the third finger
Of the left hand: the shoes, still in
fair state OF preservation, and soma
gold breastpins with which one Of the
undergarnents had been pinned up
over the girls shoulder These he took
into the station house to show Meu-
tenant George Cullum and Acting Cap
tain Deevy, in charge OF the detectives
in the precinct.
The ring naturally attracted the
greatest attention. Kelleher, before
passing it to the lieutenant, read off
the initials on 1t ''W. b. L." as he held
1t under the lamp on the desk. Lieu
tenant Cullum took 1t from him and.
looking at 1t from an opposite position.
made out the initials -. Z. NJ"
That must be the Mccain girlv' he
exclaimed, and then to Kelleher: You
read the letters upside down. see?"
The patrolman had done this very
I thing.
Immediately the station house was
all excitement, for the police attached
20 this station had had more work to
do in a vain attempt to solve the mys-
terry than any others. Acting Captain
Deevy telephoned Deputy Commission
er Dougherty at the latter's home in
Sheepshead Bay, and shortly thereafter
the Deputy Commissioner swept up to
the door In a high powered motor. He.
too, believed the evidence OF the ring.
though the shoes produced some doubt
in his mind. Robert G.. Mccain. the
father, had told the police that his
daughters shoes, Of leather, with cloth
tops. bore the trade mark of the Loeser
Company, and these bore that Of
Abraham & Straus instead.
In the meantime. Inspector Faurot,
from headquarters in Manhattan, and
Detectives Brlarton and States, from
Flatbush--they had been assigned to
the case from the frst-had arrived.
They. too. seemed a little dubious over
the shoes but felt sure OF the ring and
of the strips Of wet clothing which had
survived the action Of the salt water.
Brother Recognizes Ring.
Detective Conroy was sent from his
Flatbush station house TO the McCann
home. at No. 43S East 2lst street, to
tell the family OF the discovery. the
father, enfeebled by the ordeal OF the
last month, couldn't face the task Of
identification. Robert G.. McCann, jr..
the Oldest son. accompanied the detec-
tive alone to Coney Island They spared
him the terrible necessity of looking
upon the body and showed him instead
the ring and the shoes and the strips
Of clothing and the breast pins. He
positively identified the ring and felt
reasonably certain the shoes had be-
longed 10 sis the nickname by
which his sister went in the family.
To he doubly sure. particularly about
the clothing anG hreastpins he ts,e-
phoned his Younger sister. Ethel. 10
come down. Ethel, who is about sew
enteon years of age. was in the habit
of making all of Jcssies underclothlns
and some OF her dresses. She knew i'm
mediately that the strips OF clothing
! had belonged 10 her older sister.