Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1922-11-20
Child Home
UNFRAMED,
THOUGHT HER
KIDNAPPED


'bile ride with a strange man, and
Of their jumping out of the car,
leaving Ethlyn with the stranger,
Mrs.eReed sought the aid of the
/ police, and also sent word to st.
PauPs NJ E. Church, of which she Is
a member, asking that information
be sent out of the loss of her child.
Briefly relating the intelligence re-
( ceived DR.. Hubbard offered a prayer
J for the safety Of the child, in which
the congregation Joined. An appeal
was then made to the male members
OF the congregation who had auto
mobiles to aid in the search for
Ethlyn, as it was then thought she
had been kidnapped. A number of
men at once left the church and be-
gan the search, which was extended
| along every road entering Whining
ton. Police Captain Wardle sent De-
tectives Riley and Pierce and Motor
cycle Officers Hynson and Blackiston
and word was soon spread around
this section of the county that
little girl had been kidnapped.
Persons at the Reed home
were surprised when the front door
opened about 9 o'clock and the girl
with tear dimmed eyes rushed in TO
her mother. The child and mother
embraced each other and the others
in the little parlor remained. respect
fully silent for some minutes. The
child told her story.
There was much divergence in the.
tale told by the Reed girl and
that told by the other girls. The
stories of the three practically agreed
and were told TO the police and
newspaper representatives, while the
relatives of the Rsed girl refused to
allow her to be seen and according
to the police would not permit her to
be questioned at length.
Friends of the Reed family gave
the following version of the affair
to the police:
The four girls left their homes for
a walk about o'clock in the after
noon, going in the direction of
Union Park Gardens. Following the
main road leading from the Gardens
toward Newark. the four de-
cided to walk 10 Marshallton,
whore the Haney girl has relatives.
They walked as far as Prices Cor
ner. There a man passing in an au-
tomobile is said to have offered TO
take them along. He stopped and
the girls explained they wanted to
reach Marshallton. The man told !
hem to get in and when they COM
nm
According to the Reed g rl's fam |
lily. after the girls had ridden for
about an hour, the three other girls |
became frightened and got out of |
the machine. This was supposed TO |
have been at q point near Newark. !
The Reed girl, according to their
story, rode a short distance further |
and then got out, returning to her |
friends.
A dispute is then said to have en-
sued between the girls as to the best
way TO reach this city. and the Reed |
girl went in one direction and the
other girls continued back along the
road. according to a story told by
the Reed girl After she parted from
her companions. the Reed girl is said
TO have got lost in a nearby woods.
After several hours she is said to
came on. on the Lincoln Highway
and hailiEg a passing motorist. was
brought into Fourth and Union ,
streets. where she was given -carfare
o reach her home. II was 3 o'clock
when she arrived at the house.
The stories told by the other three
girls dispute the statement of the
Reed girls family that Ethlyn, after
Ter companions had left her, rode
tut a short distance and then get
ing out Of the car returned TO her
riends. They told the police that
Gthlyn rode staight ahead and that
hey did not see her again after they
eft the machine.
The story told by little Mary
Jewell, which is identical with that
old by the other two girls was as
ollows:
1--WE were walking to relatives of
Margaret Haney in Marshallton, but
we're not sure of the way. When !
re reached Prices Corner a man ]
pproached IN an automobile with
truck body and slowing down, :
sked us if we wanted him to take :
Is along. =
Margaret told him we wanted to /.
ct to Marshallton and he said he =.
-ould take us and told us to get in. !
,thlyp got in the front seat and the
1ree of us in the back. 1t was
ord touring car.
L remember that we passed
trough Newark and then continued :
n as far as Elkton. Here we told !
re man we must be going the wrong
av and asked him to turn back. 5
-e took another road and after some q
me brought us back near Newark. I
At this point Mary said, she and n
er two companions on the back seat 1
Id the man they wanted to get out a
nd made a move to jump out which
fused him to slow down and stop.
hey got out and Ethlyn went on,
airy said. a
Mary said that the three girls be- k
lme)~ bewildered and began crying. J
t this point, she said, an automo- y
lie with a man, woman and child in b
,proached them. Seeing us cry n
" the man stopped and asked II
here we were going. We told him b
e were lost and wanted to get back c
wilmington" Mary continued. {
1.-THE man told us TO get in and y
-ove us in to Fourth and Monroe
reefs. Then we separated and
ent to our homes" Mary said
lat the man with whom they
rst rode made no move TO harm
EN- and paid no untoward atten-
IN TO them at any time other than
turn around and ask them for