Manchester Democrat., 1921-10-12
MONTICELLO YOUNGSTERS ARE
FOUND NEAR KEOKUK

MONTICELLO YOUNGSTERS ARE
FOUND NEAR KEOKUK
Miss Lucille Hogan, 16 years old.
and Dewitt H. Thompson, II, formerly
of Manchester, who disappeared mys-
teriousIy from their homes on the
night of Sept. 2S, last, have been found.
Miss Hogan and young Thompson
were discovered camping out" On the
banks of the Des Moines river late
last night about five miles out OF
Keokuk. Police officers from the lat
ter city found the pair rolled up in
blankets to protect them from the
chilly night air-asleep.
Farmer Supplies "Tip."
The Keokuk police secured their
"tip' from a farmer residing in the
vicinity where the young couple were
found. The farmer, not knowing Of
the disappearance of the pair, merely
informed the police that they looked
Suspicious
Acting on the information thus Sc
cured, several officers, about mid
night, were sent out to investigate,
The pair was awakened and questioned
after which they were taken into Keo-
kuk where Miss Hogan spent the re-
malnder of the night at a private re-
idence while the police held Thompson
Neither seemed to be greatly con-
cerned, according to the police, who
declared that the couple appeared 10
be accepting the situation with un-
usual calmness. Thompson, accord
ing to the police, declared emphati-
cally that it was not an elopement
and indicated that they had made no
effort to secure a merriage license.
Thompson Tells Story.
Interviewed by keokuk newspaper
man, young Thompson told a straight
forward story concerning the flight.
1--WE had date on the night of Sept.
49," he is quoted as saying, "and we
remained out all night. Realizing we
would be severely reprimanded we de-
cided early in the morning to keep on
going. We had no destination, but
were just travelling. We didn't know
where we were going when we started
out and never considered this part of
it."
The couple travelled in a small tour
ing car, using tarpaulin as tent. |
The car contained an assortment of |
canned goods.
Where They Went.
Young Thompson told the keokuk |
reporter that they went first to Ana
mosa, then to Wyoming, Monmouth,
Maquoketa, Charlotte, Clinton, Prince
ton, Bettendorf, Davenport, Muscatine,
Columbus Junction, Olds and then to
Mt. Pleasant at which place they spent |
Sunday week ago. From Mt. Pleasant |
they took the road which led them in-
to Fairfield. then Libertyville, Keosqua,
Cantrill, Bonaparte, Donaldson,
Charleston and New Boston, where
they spent Saturday. Leaving New
Boston, according to Thompson, they
traversed road running parellel
with the Des Moines river. Spying
the spot where they were picked up,
and with night coming on, the couple
decided to camp there until daylight.
3 According to the police, the pair
declared they had written letters to |
either friends or relatives in Monti-
cello. recently asking that their Win
ter clothes he sanf m
Thompson talked freely about every
thing concerning the escapade, and |
apparently did not realize the
anxiety caused by his disappearance
with the girl. { @ .@ns F&
Miss Hogan left Keokuk early this |
morning for Cedar Rapids while
Thompson was scheduled to leave at
later hour. ..;.ls. .-.,
The first information received in
Monticello regarding the finding of
the pair was contained in a telephone
message from the Keokuk police to
H. M. Carpenter, president of the
Monticello State bank. A reward
OF 500 had been offered for informa-
tion that would locate the pair dead
or alive. l' r...
The disappearance of the young
people from Monticello caused con-
siderable speculation among their
friends and acquaintance as to the
probable motive for a runaway, or
their fate if they had met with acci-
dent or foul play. Both were we'll
known in Monticello and the sur
rounding country, but no one ap-
peared capable of explaining salts
factorily their mysterious disappear
ance. The parents of Miss Hogan
were una BILE to account for the girls
action and were panic-stricken when
it was discovered that she was act
ually missing. Young Thompson's
widowed mother also suffered greatly
from the strain, land, like the others,
disappearance.
Admits Theft
Keokuk, Iowa, October 10.-DeWitt
Thopmson, apprehended last night
after ten-day gypsy tour with his
16year-old sweetheart, Lucille Ho
gan, is being held in Jail here await
ing the arrival of Cedar Rapids au
thorities.
The lad is said to have admitted
to police that he broke into the
home of Albert Miller, five miles
west of here and stole number Of
jars of fruit and a watch. The pre-