East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-09-10
BODY FOugD.
tcontlnue4 from page onel

of friends about four miles out OF
town and had gone with them 10 IHa-
ho.after selling part OF his stuff to
MIN. Richardson then went out 10
woRh for Frank Frazier.
Suspect Foul FTay.
'The more Stephenson and Sims
looked into tine matter, the more they
became suspicious of foul play, and
more than week ago reported the
matter at the sheffff's office. At the
time sheriff Taylor and Deputy Estes
Were absent On their hunt for the
/ BjailbSeakes, having the office short
handed They also reported the mat
ter ia District Attorney 'ateiwer who
arrival at ths same conclusions az
they.
SheTilI Investigates.
On the return OF Sheriff Taylor
with cfhe escapel prisoners, he began
ut once to- Investigate the disappear
mce Of Owings. He found;that Rich
trdson had moi only sold the four
horses but also the wagon and har.
mess anf OwiHgs Gt about third their
value, Knowing that there were
nHmber Of old wells IN the Despair
Gulch county and that 'RhhardsOn
would probably be aware of their 10
cation because uf the fact shat he
has OnGe farmed in 'tha locality. the
sheriff yesterday sent man named
n1tkey. yho Is familiar with that To-
cahty, to ride over the country.
Arriving at the s. b. Elder place
on Despair Gulch, AZ miles from PEN
dleasn NE learned that Richardson
had stayed all night there on Monday,
the 23rd and had, on the following
morning borrowed a shovel, stating
that he wanted to dig out a coyote.
He returned the shovel about three
hours later, saying that he hat' had
his digging for nothing
Tracks Lead 10 Wen.
Dickey then began searching fSr
the old wells About three miles
from the Elder place he found wagon
tracks leading from the road into q
sagebrush bottom. They lead 10 the 1
edge OF a large abandoned well about
IA feet deep and there were indica- |
tions Of fresh dirt having been thrown
into the well.
He did not investigate further, but
telephoned TO the sheriff who at once
arrested Richardson whom he found |
at the oregon Feed Yard. He asked
Richardson point blank whether he |
killed Owings and Richardson an
swered in the negative. saying Owings
had gone to Idaho He said he pur-
chased three horses from Owings but
not the wagon or harness. Sheriff |,
Taylor did not inform hiln of the in
veaigation which had been made and
has not yet told him OF the finding
of the body. II is believed that, when
confronted with all the facts ascer.
tained that Richardson will confess.
Body UHearthcd.
Sheriff Taylor, Deputy Estes and
Coroner Brown left in the evening in
the sheriffs auto and were guided to
the old well by Dickey Under few
inches OF dirt they found a badly de-
composed body and brought it to the
city, Save for the general build OF
the body nothing was recognizable
but the clothes were positively iden-
tilted as belonging TO Owings On the
inside of the inside coat pocket was
written the name a. B. Owings" and
the initials ~ B. O." were stamped
on the lining of the coat The shoes
and hat were identified as those worn
by Owings while in the city. The
body was so decomposed and cover.
ed with dirt that no bullet holes were
found but the undertakers will put
1t in a solution of formaldehyde for
a few days, after which they can
make a better examination.
The theory of the officers is that
Richardson lured Owngs into the
sparsely settled country around De-
spain gulch and murdered him. prob
ably in the wagon by shooting him
The murder might have been com.
mitted, they think, in an abandoned :
cabin, as Richardson had spoken to
Owings about "batching' in an old :
cabin Sheriff Taylor believes the
man was probably shot in the back
while he was unaware of the others :
murderous intentions.
Richardson Wen known.
The alleged murderer is well known
in Pendleton and Umatilla county :
Up until about nine years ago he
farmed extensively on the place now :
owned by George Ness and not a mile E
and a half from where the body was
found. Something like 20 years ago
he served IA months in the peniten-
tiary for stealing a COW from DR.. W.
Il. Campbell and popular suspicion
has fastened incendiary jobs to him
For the past few years he has been :
In the down and out" class, working
at odd Jobs but seldom holding them :
Physically he was not strong and was :
recently hurt while working on the
new wing Of the Eastern Oregon State
Hospital. He is between As and so
years old, His wife divorced him
some years ago, securing the custody
Of their children, and later married :
to Tom Purdy and going to Idaho
According TO Mr.. Stephenson. Owings E
told him that he had married Mrs
Purdy and intended sending for her :
to come here to spend the winter.
Little Is known here Of the mur- E
iered man. He made a number OF
friends while here and was credited
With being a very shrewd dealer in :
horses. He had trunk, a violin and
other possessions and took them In
he wagon with him. They have not
'et been located but 1t is believed
disposed OF them. He
lad S26b in n local hank ma fba ~.