Imperial Valley press., 1919-12-22
LOST AVlA1oBS
MURDERED, JOE
RICHARDS SAYS

TUCSON, Dec. 22-Joe Richards, the
man who discovered the bodies of Lieu
tenants Cecil Connolly and Frederick
Waterhouse in Lower California was
in Tucson today, coming from Nogales
on a business trip. q.
Richards said that he is still convinc-
ed that the aviators were killed by Mex
leans not Indians, as was found by the
investigating committee. He declared
that he bases his opinion on the fact
that there are not now and We're not at
that time any Indians in that vicinity,
but that there are many Mexican fish
ermen. Richards said that the nearest
Indians are the Syrian Indians on the
! Island of Tiburon, and that these never
so to the mainland because the M<xi-
cans shoot them on sight. This com
pliment is returned by the Indians on
their own island and Mexicans never
land there.
Richards said he left Mexicali at the
mouth of the Colorado river, with Will
liam Rose, an Italian who had business
in Mexico in the capacity of interpreter.
Rose did not speak Spanish. What
Roses business was Richards did not
know. He said that he paid him we'll
that the Italian seemed to be a man of
influence and was we'll supplied with
funds and he asked no questions.
The trip was made in the Mexican
steamer Navari, bound for Guaymas.
A landing was made near Santa Rosali
for water. Richards carried keg to a
spring and noticed a peculiar smell and
then two small mounds. Examination
oh
the mound. Richards says he poked
about the sand with stick and found an
other body. He partially uncovered the
two and found the collar insignia of a
lieutenant of aviation on the coat col
lars worn by both bodies. He reported
to the ship, but none of the Mexicans
would help him. He went back and
buried the bodies, alone.
Arriving at Magdalena Bay he re
ported his find to the officers of an
American ship and went ashore. The
ship left the harbor and Richards was
arrested and Jailed. 1t was explained to
him that he had violated the Mexican
law by touching dead body before an
inquest had been held. Another charge
of robbery. Richards said he did not
know to this day whom he was charged
with robbing. He was shown a paper
and told that if he signed it he would
be released. Although the prisoner did
not read Spanish, although he spoke
the language, the officers would not
read it to him. Later on advice of his
employer, hes igned the paper without
knowing what it was. He was not freed
but held and taken upon hill where
he appeared before a military court and
signed another paper which he did not
know the contents of, and was released.
Richards and his employer then
wtS to Guaymas and was asked by
the American consul to sign a state
ment. He says he refused to do so be-
cause he was being watched by Mexican
secret service men and did not want to
get in Jail again. He took train and
went to Nogales, where he reported to
the army officers and later guided the
expedition which located and brought
back the bodies of the lost aviators.
Richards believes that tie killing
would never have happened had the
aviators landed in that portion of Low.
er California controlled by Governor
Cantu. They landed in the lower dis
| trict which is ruled over by friend of
CarIanza and where Americans are un,
| pODular