South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-12-06
CLARA PHILLIPS,
JAIL BREAKER,
STILL AT LARGE
Husband of Escaped Woman
Located, but Throws No
Light on Disappearance.
HAD LEAD OF SIX HOURS
Convicted Woman Aided by
Three Persons-Bars OF
Cell We're Sawed.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5-(By a.
P)-Clara Phillips. who escaped
from the Los Angeles county jail
early today where she was being
held under a sentence Of ten years
Imprisonment after conviction Of the
murder Of Alberta. Meadows was re-
ported as having been seen in the
southwest section of the city eight
hours after her escape this morning.
Her husband. Armour Phillips, was
located and gave a detailed account
of his movements during the past
"a hours.
A deputy sheriff notified the sher-
ifs office today that he saw a Wo-
man resembling Clara Phillips and
a man answering the description OF
her husband in an automobile at 10
o'clock in the southwest residence
section, about five miles from the
Jail
Mrs. Phillips il thought to have
made her escape about two O'Clock
this morning. The bars on her cell
WlnOOW ndu Dtell Sd dNtu AAAA = a
and after crawling through the win
dow she dropped to the roof OF an
adjoining building and disa appeared.
Absence OF saw 1ilings on the win
dow ledge led investigators to be
lieve that the bars were sawed sew
eral days prior TO her escape.
Had a Good Start
Mrs. Phillips had six hours start
on the authorities and the informa-
ton cleaned by the dragnet placed
over southern California was
meager.
The woman's section of the jail is
located on the third floor of the old
jail building The tank cell in which
Mrs. Phillips was lodged Is one Of
three. eight 10y eight feet, the. VIM
dow Of the cell looking out over the
roof Of two story auxiliary jeil
structure.
The cell entrance is about % feet
from the stairway to the matron's
sleeping quarters on the floor below
the tanks.
Jailer Bailey says that indications
are that the escape was effected by
a rope from the Jail window TO the
roof Of the building adjoining. Mrs.
Phillips then, with companions who
apparently% assisted in the escape,
crossed the roof to a fire escape and
getting TO the rear OF the building,
walked through a corridor TO the
street and to waiting automobiles
The jail structure and auxiliary
building are within a few hundred
feet Of the main postoffice and d.
rectly across the street from the
county court house. There is cOns.-
derable traffic in the vicinity at all
hours.
Under Heavy Sentence,
Mrs. Clara Phillips was under
sentence to serve from ten years TO
life in the state prison for the mur-
der Of Mrs Alberta Meadows. Her
escape was so wei planned and exc
cuted that it remained unknown for
more than six hours.
Three steel bars guarding the
window in her cell were sawed
through from the inside. Then a
square of heavy mesh netting was
formed the woman made her way
out and over adjacent roofs Of
other PARTS Of the Jail, down through
trap door and out 10 where lib
erty and an automobile awaited
her
The sheriff dispatched deputies TO
all ports along the western portion
OF the northwestern boundary Of
Mexico. He had also had depOts
and main roads out Of southern Cali
fornia guarded, telegraphed de-
sCriptions Of the woman and her
husband to nearby offices and per-
sonaIlly led a search Of those places
10 which it was believed the woman
might have fed.
Investigation az the jail indicated
that at least three persons had aided
the woman. Her quarters were on
the third floor CT the old jail build
ing and she occupied a tank cell
overlooking a roof Of an auxiliary
structure, a story lower. Footprints
and other marks on this roof led
DEPUTIES who investigated that angle
Of the escape to announce their be-
lief that at least two persons aided
her on the roof and one or two
more awaited them in an automO-
bile at the street level.
The Los Angeles county jail stands
in tho main business section Of the
city. II Is within a block OF the
federal building where postal activi-
ties are continuous. Street cars pass
along one side and even in the quiet
hours OF the night vehicle traffic Is
heavy. There are always jailers and
matrons on GUty al 4 a glare Of
street lamps surroun
MatrOn Heard gp ice.
The sheriff ann, III : that a
number OF personsi peQTere con-
nected with the tre 9uoMrs. Phil
lips would be sought 514 row what
light they could ~ sAvsscape-
The matron on BoiIss the time
OF the escape was As louuD. Fisher.
She said she visited T. no Phillips IN
her cell about $3.50 iJs u .ght. found
her in bed and comoA ang Of i'll
ness. Mrs. Fisher salplp ne then re-
turned 10 the matr0l's quarters
ABOUT % feet from the door OF Mrs.
Phillips CELL. She said during the
night she heard nothing unusual.
Mrs. Fisher said she knocked on
all the cell doors at $50 this morn
ing and then awoke the woman IN
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