Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-01-01
WOMAN'S IDENTITY
IS STILL MYSTERY
City and County Police Make
Little Progress in River
Tragedy.
CORONER EXAMINES BODY
No Marks of Violence Found.
Arvonia Telegram Arouses
Interest in Case.

Every clue that may have any bear
ing on the identification of the woman
whose body was found in the James
Kiver. above the Wcstham Bridge. Mon
day morning is being followed by the
police Of this city and Henrico County.
Little progress has been made, and
the mystery that surrounds the death
is as deep as it ever was.
An examination of the body was
J. Fulmcr Bright and Sheriff Webb sgd
nor. OF IIenrico County. The work
may render any material assistance in
identifying the woman WAS found. The
tan .raincoat which she wore was
the pockets were empty. There was
no card case such as women carry nor
a poeketbook; Nothing was carried in
tion of Il small bar-pn, set with ten
jewelry on any OF the garments.
ARVONIA WOMAN FEARS
IT NAY BE HER SISTER
rrh Mhe waS to on The the 10dy D5
sent to his office from Il woman in Ar
N,ona. inuuirinE what kind of scars
The woman who was found on river
bank: what kind of scars has she? I
had sister that had an operation on
swer." The name of Mrs. j. a. Capelle
was signed to the telegram. The mes
sage was sent from Arvonia at $3.50
Is not directly on the James River. but
IS reached by going through Columbia
about fifty miles above this city. 1t
is not inconceivable. the authorities
say. that the body drifted down from
;he westham Bridge.
DR.. Bright has wired to Mrs. Capelle
that 1t is advisable for her or some
member of her family to come to Rich
mond at once TO view the body in an
sh.Hnp' ss,en oon 10 r'ehtfs ,h II as me missing
from Arvonia additional light may be
sled on the mystery.
NAY HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED
TOBACCO FACTORY EMPLOYEE
An employee of local tobacco COM
pany, who viewed the body. stated that
IT might be that of a woman who for
,na, me,ly civ worked ris at the plant; He said
tan raincoat and Answered the de
scriptions of the dead xw-o,nan. How
made it imipossibie for him TO. identi-
~ her. Thr woman who worked at
tn the tobacco plant was ;frog, Harris,
three weeks ago. Her name was not
known. to the man. He was fairly GER
tain that her first name was Mabel,
Considerable difficulty was expert
enced in stripping the clothes from
the body. They were covered with
mud and leaves matted together and
frozen. Several times hammer had
TO be used to knock off ice which clung
around parts of the body. To all APP
pearances the woman had been dressed
as IL going to some entertainment. The
presence Of abundant clothing over
which the raincoat was worn points
to an automobile ride in cold weather
when extra clothes were essential.
NO MARKS OF VIOLENCE
ARE FOUND on BODY
The hands OF the woman were small!
and shapely and incased in black silk
gloves. There were rings on her
fingers. Her hair had matted and
frozen and had fallen from the scalp
The color Of her eyes was blue.
There was no, a sign Of violence on
the body. The skin on the right side
of the face was dented from lying
against the root Of the tree on the
river bank. None of the bones was
broken, however, Coroner Bright stated
i'm his examination. This fact weak
ems the theory that the woman may
have been killed by u blow on the face
and then thrown into the water.
What may furnish help in the work
OF Identification, which is now the
problem for the county officers to solve,
Is the presence of TWO crowned teeth
in the front of the upper set. If the
dentist can be found who did this work
a long step will have been taken.
An autopsy will be performed on the
body to-day by Coroner Bright.