The New York herald., 1921-04-07
SAW MRS. RANKME
AT RITZ-CARLTON,
OLD FRIEND SAYS
Missing Woman Believed to
Have Ended Life. Despite
Alleged Reappearance.
RIVER BEING DRAGGED
Widow Had Abundant For
tune, Safely Invested, Yet
Sought Pawnshop.
DEAD, WRITER'S BELIEF
Mrs. Louise Closer Hale
Tells of Recent Discus
siOns Of Suicide.
DEAD, WRITER'S BELIEF

While the belief Is growing that Mrs.
Annette Kingsley Rankine, who has
been missing since Friday afternoon.
may have ended her life while suffer
ing from extreme mental depression
woman has been found who knows
Mrs. Rankine and who is confident she
saw and addressed her late last Satur-
day afternoon in the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel.
This informant communicated yes
terday with j. NJ. Nye. formerly Of
the Secret Service Mr.. Nye at her
request withholds from publication her
name and address, but he is much i'm
pressed with her story. She told him
she had known Mrs. Rankine well.
both when she lived in New Canaan
and since, and that she recognized
her positively walking in the lobby Of
the hotel between 5 and $3.50 o'clock
last Saturday, just twenty-four hours
after she had parted from her chauf-
feur.
According to tho woman informant.
she addressed Mrs. Rankins. but the lat
ter passed her bv without speaking.
This did not greatly surprise her. she
said. as Mrs. Rankine sometimes was
moody.
Mrs. Louise Closer Hale. a we'll
known writer and actress. who told last
night OF her long and intimate friend
ship with the lost woman for twenty
years. believes her friend Is a suicide.
She expressed the conviction that she
had been closer to Mrs. Rankire than
any other woman.
saw s.the End I'm Her Face.
II last saw Mrs Eankinc on Easter
Monday. just ten days ago. said Mrs.
Hale, "and l knew by the look in her
face, and by her actions, as clearly as
IL she had told ME in words, that the
end was not far off. On that day. late
IN the afternoon. l went to the offices
OF the Association for Improving the
Condition OF the Poor, where Mrs. RAN
kline was doing voluntary secretarial
work. and went with her IN her auto
mobile TO her physicians office in Madi-
son avenue. From there we went to her
home. She got out. and instructed
Frank Clout.ng. the chauffeur, to take
me home l remember telling Clouting
] was worried about her, and ] warned
him that something might happen to
her soon"
Mrs. Hale explained her fear that the
woman was suicide by associatins to-
gcther the numerous remarks Mrs. Ran
kline had made during the la seven or
eight years concerning the immortality
or the soul and the responsibility for
human life She said only q short time
ago Mrs. Ranlzine .old her that. so far
as she could see, there was nothing to
l.
such n course seemed desirable.
"Mre. Rankine did not arrive at her
viewpoint suddenly" said Mrs. Hale.
Rather II was the result OF mental and
psychological processes which had been
going on several years. She told me
she was gradually abandoning all her
early beliefs. She had ceased going 10
church several years ago. All the old
forms meant nothing TO her. ! remen-
Der she said 10 me once:
'Louise, if there IL such a thing as
Immortality. IL there Is anything ahead
for us---any reward or anything-thcn
why don't some OF my dead loved ones
give me q sign OF some sort? My hus-
band. at least should want to comfort
me-"
Mrs. Hale said that. so rar as che
knew, Mrs. Rankine had not showed the
slightest interest in psychoanslysls or
spiritualism since 1917. For some time.
she said. Mrs. Ranlsine had reen her old
friends less than usual. as if she was
trying TO draw away from them.
The possibility that Mrs. Rankine was
mentally deranged was suggested to
Mrs. Hale. but she insisted that. 50 far
as every ordinary sign could Indicate
her mind always was clear.
"Of course" she said, there may have
been periods after her falnting spells
when she was not herself but every time
talked with her I knew her mentality
was as strong as It ever had been. She
had convinced herself Immortality was
simply a dream. that her life was hers
either TO take or TO prolong. and when
the time came she deliberately put her
self out OF the way. cooily and without
fear"
n was admitted Yesterday that Mrs.
Rankine was more than usually melan-
choly during the days Immediately pre-
ceding her d!sappearance and that more
than once she had told her nurse, Miss
Sphinx:
..ff ! thought should never recover
from this nervous depression believe
should rather be dead"
Inquired for n Pawnshop.
Mr.. Nye confirmed the accuracy Of
another report yesterday which went
far 10 convince him that Mrs. Rankinc
condition. After her chauffeur had
driven her homo she addressed 10 her
chauffeur the strangest request he ever
bad heard from her lips. She asked Z
he could direct her to a awnbrokor's
shop. Frank. the chauffeur. though
astounded. said he thought they all had
TO close at o'clock.
Sho then directed him TO drive her TO
Fast Fifty ninth street. As the cnr
passed. through that thoroughfars
Frank called her attention to pawn
brokers' place as they passed n. but X
already was closed for the day, and she
instructed him TO drive on. Since Fri
cev the police have canvassed every
loan office in the vicinity OF the
Qusengboro Bridge. and they are con-
WINGED she never visited any Of them.
launch and crew or the marine d.
vision OF tho Police Department, towing
q dory IN which were men operating
ewpneIs dragged ths East River IN the
vicinity Of the bridge yesterday from
10 o'clock until d%ris IN the hope OF
hnaing either the oody OF the los, rom-
aD or some trace OF her. Their one
tsngible prize was brough; ~ just be-
fore noon. II was a section OK black
mourning vail with heavy black
border. But the ciew was Il false one.
cor Mr.. Nye and Miss SPHINX assured
che h1rbor uolicr that Mrs Rankine