New Britain herald., 1923-08-23
WOMAN BEGGAR
MAY BE KIDNAPPER
New York Police Working On
Clue Tracing Lillian Mckenzie

which the police hope to locate three
months-old Lillian Mckenzie, who was
kidnapped from her perambulator IN
from of McCrory's store in West Eigh-
teenth street near Sixth avenue at
noon last Saturday. In addition to this
action OH the part of Police Captain
William Fl. Funston, in charge of the
search, Captain John II. Ayres, head
OF the Bureau of Missing Persons, seat
out general alarm to the entire force
asking them to search for poorly
dressed woman of about So, who was
seen with a baby answering the de-
scription of Lillian a few hours after
the kidnapping.
Information about the woman and
the child was revealed to Captain
Ayers early in the day by woman
who lives in tenement at Albany ana
Greenwich streets, in the Battery Sec
ton of the city, and who said that she
was convinced that the woman was
carrying the missing baby when she
begged for money in her apartment
Saturday afternoon, The informant
noticed that the infant in the wonan's
arms was emaciated and was wrap
ped in a pink and white blanket such
as was wrapped about the kidnap-
ped child when her mother left her
in the perambulator to make pur-
chases in the store.
Description OF Woman
II cannot reveal the name of our
informant" Captain Ayers said, be
cause to do SO at this time might in
terfere with our plans to apprehend
the suspected woman. She told US that
the child carried by the woman when
she called on her in quest OF aims ap-
peared to be about three months old.
She gave us an especially good de-
scription of this woman and we feel
that with the cooperation Of the pub
lie we will be able to find her and the
child. II
"She said that the woman was
about 5 feet inches tall, had a
swarthy complexion and was for
eigner, weighed about 1870 pounds and
wore mixed blue and white dress
and white shawl. Our informant also
told us that the shawl was particularly
noticeable because of its yellow shade,
due either to age or lack of cleaning.
Seek for Beggar
I'VE shall not be satisfied until we
have found this woman and child and
brought her before Mrs. Mckenzie. In
the general alarm setTout this morn
ing every policeman and detective in
the five boroughs of the city was ask
ed to give the description to every
man and woman he encountered, with
instructions that, in the event they
came across the woman, they should
Immediately telephone to Police Head
quarters, 800 Spring, and keep the
woman under surveillance, If they
cannot actually hold her, until the ar
rival of detectives, from the nearest
station. If the person who discovers the
woman believes it will expedite police
action, he or she should communicate
directly by messenger with the nearest
police station. in the event police
man cannot be obtained in the vicinity
Immediately"
Beggars Tale
Captain Ayres said that his inform
ant stated that when the woman call
ed on her with the child Saturday
afternoon she appeared to be extreme
ly nervous. The child appeared to be
in comatose-- state. the woman told
him.
The caller said that she was the
mother of seven children and was in
destitute circumstances.
she said that she and the child
were on the verge. of starvation" Cap
tain Ayres continued, land pleaded for
immediate aid. Our informant said
that she suggested to the woman that
she go to another woman in an apart
ment above who was in better finan-
Cial circumstances to help her, but
the woman only shrugged her should
ers and hurried down the stairs with
the child and disappeared"
He said that his informant added
that she noticed that the blanket in
which the child was wrapped was i'm
maculatcly clean, in contrast with the
unkept appearance of the woman who
carried theinfant, and that fact stuck
in her mind. 1t did not occur to her,
however, that the child might be the
missing Lillian Mckenzie, Captain
Ayres explained, until she read a de-
scription of the kidnapped child in a
newspaper last Tuesday. She could not
sleep during the night owing to her
realization that the description tailed
with that of Lillian, and she telephon-
ed to police headquarters early yes
terday morning.
Captain Ayers said that detectives
learned that the woman had continued
to solicit aims in the vicinity until 7
O'Clock Saturday evening and then
disappeared. He said that when he
told Captain Funston about the state
ment of his informant detectives were
hurried to the Battery section and a
house to house search was instituted
in the hope of obtaining trace of the |
woman and child.