The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-07-09
Property of Missing Fred
N. Braley Evidently
Some Time Buried
MAN MAY HAVE BEEN
FOULLY DEALT WITH
Blank Papers and Checks
Bearing His Signature
and Nothing Else

itNNhNu Duiit Si'fs
the following story of the finding OF
the effects Of Fred n Braley in a
Portland park:
In shallow grave, accidentally
| discovered in the most remote sec
tion of MacIeay park Sunday after
noon. two glass fruit jars were found
containing private papers including the
will, two watches and other valuables
believed to belong to Fred \, Braley,
banker of Barre, VT, who has been
missing since January, 1919.
"Braley has been the object of a ma
| tionwide search on the part of his
| friends aud business associates in Yer.
mont The last heard from him was in
| a letter written January 81, 1919, from
! the Chancellor hotel. San Francisco,
where he said he was about to leave for
/ Portland by steamer. Until December,
! 1918, he was ce-president OF the Peo-
pies National Bank of Barre. of which
| he was also one of the founders.
BY sheerest accident the papers
were found Sunday by Ben Bechtel,
druggist, employed by the Skidmore
| Drug Go. Bechtel Is a nature lover and
in the course of ramble Sunday after
noon along Cornell road, he decided TO
climb the steep hills that lie north
west OF Kings Heights and return by
way of Macleay park.
Stumbling through the dense brush,
Bechtel slipped while climbing around
| the root of a windfall, and his feet
plunged through soft earth. then
through rotten woodwork and into an
opening. Extricating himself he pro-
eeeded to investigate A cache was
found approximately six feet long and
two and one half feet wide. At one
end il was obout four feet deep and at
the other about two and one half feet.
"lt was evidently very old cache,
for the covering was of bark stripped
from large trees and was badly rotted,
The Jars were found in the shallow end
which had been cleaned out and refitted
with timbers. Appearances indicated
this had been done in the last two
years. The cache was entirely over.
grown with foliage and brush and so
completely concealed that random
search would not have revealed il in u
hundred years.
The cache is approximately 500 yards
from one of the good trails in the park
and is on the side of the hill sloping
toward the Cornell road
"Bechtel, after partially uncovering
the cache, but without discovering the
Jars, carefully marked the spot and
blazed his way out to the trail Be
lieving something mysterious was con-
nected with the cache, Bechtel main
tanned secrecy, and Monday night in
company with Charles Minor, another
employee of the drug store, revisited
the scene
Darkness coming on. they had time
only to discover the jars, carefully
placed under gunny sacks. The jars
were not disturbed at that time. At
3 o'clock Thursday morning, after sew
eral hours of work in which they made
complete excavation. the two men
started for the city with the jars. each
~ which is Of half gallon capacity.
They had expected to find body in
the cache. but were unsuccessful.
"The lars were delivered 20 Attorney
George Gearhart. geo Henry building.
who now has them in his possession.
All AHNfNAlAhAlNii VI AtAF AUiAAFhAS
was made Thursday afternoon. Scores
Of business papers of many kinds were
found. all either bearing Braley'y sig
natures ~ addressed to him
watch Is Costly.
"An open faced Hamilton watch Of
costly model was found, together with |
a hunting case Of another watch. sppa- |
rs,hlN- I'D Il
and decorated This case may have |
been for womsns watch, As il is |
small
Gold nose glasses, with skeleton
frames. the lenses of unusual cut. in a |
silver case, were also found III one OF |
the lars. Attached To the watch chain /
was silver knife bearing the much /
worn initials C. X. p Included among /
these personal effects was a plain gold !
band ring, apparently an old fashioned
ring. marked IL karat
Twelve KEYS. tied together with 2
piece of fsh line, were found. On the |
string were two skeleton KEYS, a cou-
pie of plain door KEYS and number
OF combination and spring lock keys,
some Of them registered
Paper Rots Away.
"The iars at ono time had been
wrapped in newspaper. but the wrap
ping had all dropped away a. result
II the weathering, leaving only small
fragments Of the paper sdhering 20 the
glass.
"In the bottom Of one OF the jars.
in a plain brown paper en-
gelope. was = gold dollar bearing the
late. 1851. and marks to Indicate II had
Dnce been on piece Of jeweiry.
The will, properly sttested. and
irswn in Barre. Vt. was dated July -,
1905 II specifics that 5000 Is TO 80
10 Braley's housekeeper. and the bal
,nce Of the estate Is left in trust TO the
Montpelier Savings bank, with instruc-
.ions that on completion Of the trust
he property is to be divided among
surviving heirs. none Of whom are
lamed The amount Of the estate i
rot given. but from an examination Of
h. other papers, il would appear to be
considerable.
Trustee is Designated. IN
~Another Of the papers. dated Jsnu-
.rv 10. 1910. addressed to whom Il
nav concern, designated the MontPsl {
er Vermont Savings Bank a Trust !
ompsuy as executor and trustee Of the
state. according to the terms Of ny {
vii This - signed by Brsley.
--StnI another paper j. = receip'. dat
q Deoembsr 2. 1915. from the Lincoln ]
.afc Deposit CO. n New York. showing ;
hzl three steamer trunks had been