The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-07-30

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July at his claim in the northeast
corner of Bingham county, and held
for $4,000 ransom, escaped from his
captor last Friday and his captor was
captured three hours later and is now
serving time for his crime. His name
lis Leonidas NJ Dean, he is a native
Iof southwestern Virginia, lived fol
many years at Salem, Utah, has work
ed in Idaho for number of years
said to be 81 years old. He handled
1.-THE abducting alone, kept his prison
er in camp in thick brush high VI
on Sheep mountain, chained to tree
at night and at liberty under guard
during the day. The plan was to
make Empey go into the road Satur-
day night and receive the ransom
money and deliver it to Dean who
was to remain in the background and
keep him covered with his gun. Dean
would set Empey free the next morn
ling, and would himself undertake to
get out of the country by travelling
|afoot through the brush and timber,
wading in streams to throw blood
hounds off of the trail in case he was
followed. The complete story of the
crime as we have CLEANED it from all
sources is given below. In our special
editions printed about it Saturday,
we gave what appeared to be the
facts, gathered by telephone from
many sources, but our informants
were mistaken in some things, and
so were we. One press report had
bit that Empey had come home via
but it was a phone mes
sage via Montpelier announcing his
escape One paper published tele
phone information saying that Dean
was captured at the Palmeral ranch,
'and another had it the Commercial
ranch, both being mistaken interpre-
tations of the Coumerilh ranch.
When legislative body amends an
hct it usually reads, "All acts and
parts of acts conflicting herewith are
hereby repealed" And when news
paper gets it's mistaken reports re-
conciled and the errors eliminated it
puts out the corrected version with
the understanding that all stories and
parts of stories conflicting with it
are repudiated. Here is our correct
led story of the crime as we under
stand it.
The story in Full
On Saturday afternoon, the seven
teenth Of July, Empey and his ten
year-old son and another boy of about
the same age were held up near his
cabin in Long valley, and the three
were marched up toward Sheep
mountain for about half a mile.
There Dean told the boys to go back
home and take this letter, which he
handed them, to Mr. Empey's people,
and to say nothing to anybody else.
He kept sixshooter in each hand
all the time and gave them no
chance to attack him. The Empey
boy fearing for his fathers life,
plead with Dean to let his father re-
turn too, but this was refused The
boy got down on his knees and plead
piteously, disregardins Deans COM
|mands to Shut up!" and finally Dean
handled the guns as If he We're about
ito brain the boy with one of them.
Empey drew as close as he dared to
to ward off the expected blow, but
the boy desisted and went away car
Irying the letter and weeping as if
his heart would break. Dean then
made Empey march on across the
ridges and up gulches, through brush
and timber until midnight when they
arrived at his camp only three miles
from where they had started. Empey
was kept under guard but was invit-
ed to lie down and sleep If he wanted
to. He had been nursing pent-up
rage and insult at the thought of be-
ing treated so and he sat UP I'LL
night and hated Dean, and Dean sat
up watching Empey.
After Empey's son and his COM
panion returned to the ranch they
waited all night for Mr.. Empey
to return, thinking it impossible that
he should not come home, and on
Sunday morning early they left for
Ammon where their relatives lived.
1t took them nearly all day to make
the trip.
The Brigand's Letter &.
July 16, 1915.
Mr. E. S. Empey and Family: To
save the life OF your relative who is
NOW my prisoner comply with the fol-