The Washington herald., 1922-08-14
SEEK B0OTLECCER
AS MBRIDE DEATH
CARE TRACED HERE
Police Trail Man Seen
Talking With Victim
At Elks' Home.
KNOWN AS GAMBLER
Autopsy Proves Death OF
Victim Was Due to Frac-
ture Of Skull.
KNOWN AS GAMBLER

Search for q young man. believed
to be q bootlegyer and a frequenter
OF q gambling resort beyond Cedar
Hill Cemetery who was seen con-
versing with Barney A. Mcbride. so
years old. wealthy oil land owner
and retired capitalist of Muskosoe'
OKLA, whose murdered body was
found Thursday morning near
Meadows. Nd, is being made as =
clue to the solving of the "gunny
sack" murder.
A description OF the man has been
furnished by members Of the Eiks.
who declare they saw him con-
versing with the retired capitalist.
The detective force. under the d.
rection of Inspector Clifford L.
Grant. is sieving all resorts in
habited by gamblers in an effort to
locate the suspect.
Spoke to Mcbride.
According to officials of the Elks.
the unidentified man left the club.
s2l II street northwest. after hav-
ing spoken to Mcbride in apparent
confidential manner. at $50 o'clock
Wednesday afternoon. Ten minutes
later Mcbride quit playing pool and
left the club. This was the last
seen of Mcbride until his body was
found.
Yesterdays investigation re-
veaIed the identity of the man
members of the club. According to
~ fzN al b..
Organization. left the billiard room
several minutes after introducing
Mcbride. He has no connection
with the mystery. police assert.
New developments arose when an
autopsy was conducted yesterday
afternoon at the undertaking es-
tablishment of James 7. Ryan, 317
Pennsylvania avenue southeast.
under the direction of Deputy Coro-
ner Herbert E. Martyr.
Death Due to Fracture.
Death was not due from the loss
OF blood and shock as hal previ-
ously Lsen believed. Tho autopsy
revealed a fracture of the skull
According to physicians. the frac-
ture is believed to have caused al
most instant death and 10 thought
to nave been inflicted with a
monkey wrench or some other heavy
blunt instrument.
Police are certain that Mcbride
received the blow from behind
while riding in an automobile. 1t is
IN ought that the cuts IN .ic haas
and neck had been inf1icts: in an
effort to subdue Mcbride during a
holdup and when the victim offered
resistance. he was struck the fatal
blow.
Headquarters Detectives Kelly,
Scrivener. Sweeney. Waidron. Brad
ley. Vermillion and Horn are CEN
tering all efforts in running down
those believed to have been feQuent
visitors to the well-known gamb-
ling den.
Tracing Death Car.
That the murderers were familiar
with the resort was definitely es-
tablished by the tracing of the
death" car to the gambling house
where tracks were lost However,
the night of the murder. the den
was closed due to the expose in
The Herald. This leads police to
believe that the murder party, after
failing to find refuge at the resort.
returned to Washington along the
Suitland road, into Alabama avenue.
Detectives traced spots Of blood
from the Marlborough pike to the
side road leading to Meadows. Md.
According to the tire tracks. the
automobile, believed to have been a
small machine. sped up. the road
nearly 200 yards, turned around
and returning approximately SO
yards, dropped the bady behind the
culvert. Traces Of blood believed
to have dripped from the automo-
bile after the murdered body had
been abandoned were traced up the
Suitland road which opens near the
culvert, for a distance Of 30 yards.
From there the detectives traced
the car by tire tracks.
The bloody shirt. discarded by a
white man at a haberdashery shop
at s24 D street northwest, "Wednesday
night, proved to belong to a Baiti-
morean who was located yesterday
The man proved to police that he
had been engaged IN a fight between
Baltimore and Washington and dur
ing the melee. received a cut lip.
His shirt became bloody from the
wound. On arriving in this city. the
shirt was discarded and a new one
purchased.
Do Not Suspect Indiana.
The theory that Mcbride had been
murdered by Indians who trailed him
from Oklahoma was ridiculed by po-
lice when Information concerning the
dead mans activities for the past Ave
months were received.
Police are of the opinion tina the
man now being sought was a member
Of the same party with whom Nc
Bride spent Tuesday night. No trace
Of his whereabouts on that night has
been discovered.
Whether the gunny sack which
covered the dead mans head had
been thrown over him before the
fatal attack was made or whether
1t was placed there in an effort to
conceal wounds. police are unable
to state. They believe that the sack
was thrown over his head after the
cuts had been made in an effort to
subdue the victim before the fatal
blow was struck
Will ship Body Today.
NJ. A. Arbuckle, of Muskogee, Okla
who for years has ben employed by
Mcbride. arrived in Washington to
take charge of the body. After the
autopsy the body was turned over
to Arbuckle. Shipment to Muskogee
will be made this afternoon.
L.