Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-06-24
SHACK
NOT FOUND BY
ANY SEARCHERS
BY GEORGE sPEARs>.


The mystery that surrounded the
sudden disappearance of Aimee Semple
Mcpherson, Los Angeles evangelist,
from the beach at Santa Monica has
been cleared up with her appearance
in Douglas early yesterday morning
but an even greater mystery remains
to be solved 1t is a mystery that mas
baffled the best trackers Of this
county and Mexican line riders, who
spent the greater part of Wednesday
attempting to locate a deserted shack
near the international line. Every
trail, every road and dozens of dry
washes were explored in an effort to
locate the place where the evangelist
says she was held captive by two men
and a woman for several days.
From the slaughter house mile
and half from Douglas. on the in.
ternatipnal line, the Officers, back
tracked Mrs Mcpherson to the road
that leads to Guiargos ranch, Is miles
farther east. About four miles east
of the slaughter house the footprints
of a woman were again found by the
trackers, who followed them from the
road to a small shed used by line
riders as a shelter during the rainy
season. The tracks were found going
both ways from the she'd but were
again lost in the rocky road bed.
Several times the officers believed
they found footprints of the evan
gelist, but they could not find where
they came into the road at Nigger
Head mountain, where she told police
trail.
ers continued to Guiagro's ranch,
where no information concerning the
kidnapped woman or her abductors was
obtained from Mexicans residing there.
Posse Separates
Later in the afternoon the trailers
separated, the Mexican officials going
to Cineza, a Chinese settlement about
10 miles southeast of Douglas, two of
theA American officers returning} to
Douglas to get Mrs. McPherson's s
shoes to compare them with the foot
prints found, and another officer and
two newspaper men from Bisbee taxi
ling up the investigation from the
American side of the line
The Mexicans returned from Cineza
late vest erday afternoon and reported
that they could not find any trace of
shack such as was described by the
missing evangelist as her place OF
| captivity. All the houses IN that VII
cinity are occupied and none of the
Chinese residing there had observed
strangers in that wild section of So
nora.
| The American officers returned to
the line riders shed and the slaugh-
| ter house and compared the footprints
with one of Mrs. McPherson's shoes.
which proved to their satisfaction that
they had followed the right trail.
The other officer and newspapermen
who took up the investigation from
the American side followed the border
from Douglas to Slaughter's ranch, 1S
miles east. All roads leading from
the main highway were followed to
thei1 terminal and nothing but de-
serted mine workings were found. A
view from a high hill did not disclose
any houses in either direction.
Shack Remains Mystery
Charles E. Cross, for many years a
deputy sheriff in Cochise county and
who has trailed cattle thieves in the
section of country where Mrs. Nc
Pherson is believed to have been
taken, could not think of any de-
serted cabins in that territory. Cross
took up the trail from the American
side of the line after he had accom-
panied the other officers to Guiardo
ranch Lon Murchison, city police
sergeant. and A. c. Patterson, also a
Douglas police officer, returned for
the shoe with which to compare the
| footprints. The chief of police of
Aqua Prieta accompanied them on
both trips.
Continued on Page Three)