Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1915-11-05
Youfhfu| Auto Thieves
Are Soon Captured
Koser Boys Steal Auto at Clarkston Burglarze Hoene
Hardware Store for Gas and Supplies and Wreck Their
Car on Salmon River Grade Before Being Captured

bird that a car answering the
description of the missing car
had passed through that place
early that morning and had after
ward rolled off the grade south
OF that town. Sheriff Williams
picked up Chester Thompson, of
the local garage, to bring back
the damaged car and started in
rapid pursuit, and word was also
sent out from the sheriff's office
in Grangeville deputizing citizens
at Freedom to stop the fugitives
if they tried to pass through that
place.
After passing Whitebird the
fugitives started up the river at
a rapid pace and, on turning one
of the many sharp grades along
the river, the car skidded off the
grade and rolled twice over down
the steep hillside. The top and
wind shield of the car were de-
molished and one fender badly
damaged, while Ed. Koester had
one shoulder badly injured and
his brother cut his hand severely.
The car was still able to run,
however, and the boys got it up
to the grade under its own power
but could not make it take the
three-foot leap up onto the road
way. They waited for passing
team and just as they got the car
pulled back onto the road Sheriff
Williams arrived on the scene and
took them into custody.
The car and the prisoners was
run back to Whitebird where
about a thousand pounds of stuff,
consisting of gasoline, canned
goods and other eatables, tools,
etc., were unloaded to tighten
the car and the party then came
on to this place, arriving here
about $3.50 P. M.
On reaching this place the
prisoners were given a meal and
the injured hand was dressed by
Or. Orr, after which a quantity
of the property taken from the
Hoene store was separated and
left with the owner, and the Of
ficer and his prisoners left in the
stolen car for Asotin where the
latter were placed in the county
Jail to await trial.
That The youthful robbers had
planned we'll on making good
their escape and on resisting ar
rest if overtaken was shown by
the fact that they were well arm
ed and ammunitioned, having in
their possession a 25-20 rifle with
a belt full of cartridges, a 80
automatic Remington with sever
al boxes of shells and a 22-calibre
high power rifle, besides powder
and fuse and other explosives.
They also carried food sufficient
to last them for perhaps a month
and secured gasoline enough
here to carry them we'll into the
southern part of the state. Had
they not had their mishap on the
Salmon river road they would
have given their pursuers a long,
hard chase and several fatalities
might have occurred before they
could have been captured.
The prisoners are the sons OF
Mr.. and Mrs. Barney Koester,
formerly residents of the Green
creek section, and the older boy
broke into the Greencreek store
several years ago and carried off
several articles but was later re-
leased on his promise of mendlng
his ways. The parents were hard
working people who apparently
were unable to make much head
way in this world but who were
always considered honest and
would pay as they could. The