Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-06-14
Two Killed in
County Jailbreak

After yielding Jailer Basye death
blow in the head with flatiron, TAX
ing his gun and keys and forcing an
other prisoner from the county jail
at Jacksonville at the point of re-
volver, and escaping for q short time
in nearby brush patch John Rags
dale, convicted prisoner from Lake
creek, shot and killed himself Tues
day afternoon. Chauncey Florey,
county recorder, is also seriously in
jured as result of a fall received
during the search.
The first intimation that crime
had been committed came about 2:3O
Tuesday afternoon when Bert Rippey,
a prisoner in the Jail, called through
his cell window to the employees in
the county clerks office that he
heard a man groaning and thought
the jailer had been hurt
The employees in the sheriffs and
county clerks offices rushed into the
Jail and found Basye lying in pool
of blood on the floor beside his desk.
His head was crushed. They imme-
diately gave the alarm. County Re-
corder Florey and Carl Newbury, son
of Attorney Gus Newbury, jumped
into a car, the latter armed with a
1920 rifle, and started down the
Medford road. while j. A. Norris, the
court house janitor, grabbed an au-
tomato and started on foot, on the
back road.
The chase might have been fruit
less but for the courageous action OF
four small Jacksonville lads ranging
from six to ten years old, who saw the
two men walking rapidly, one hold
ing a gun on the other, by a yard In
which they we're playing, and who
followed them despite the older mans
pointing his gun at them and warn
ing them not to follow. They came
to the Medford road just as the car
containing Florey and Newbury
dashed up, and hailing them pointed
to the two men crossing the field for
the brush west OF the road near Jack
son creek. Newbury jammed on
the brakes, the car coming to a sud
den stop. which threw Tlorey, who
was riding on the running board of
the car, considerable distance and
giving him a heavy fall on his head.
Although he lay still, Newbury de-
cided the escaped prisoners demand
ed first attention, so he jumped out
with his gan and tried to pun>o in a
cartridge, but the - iammed
Without moments hesitation, how
ever. he covered the one man who
was in sight and told him to throw
ND his hands or he'd fill him full of
holes. The man promptly obeyed Just
as Norris appeared with his auto
matte. The prisoner proved to be
Irving Oehler, the convicted forger,
who at the point of gun had been
forced to leave with Ragsdale.
In the excitement of the moment
Ragsdale disappeared in the thick
brush at this point and it being fool
hardy for one man to attempt his
capture while the other held the pris-
oner, Oehler was taken back to jail
by Norris while Deputy Sheriff Leslie
Stansell quickly gathered a makeshift
posse and notified Sheriff Jennings,
who was in Medford, and who quickly
gathered a group of the Company ]
men and rushed them to the scene.
It was shortly after oehler's arrest
that a shot was fired, and the young
forger claimed Ragsdale had fired at
him when he saw him surrender.
This was the shot, however, that
killed Ragsdale The posse surround
ed the brush and as they advanced
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