Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-11
RELEASE OF DR.. KNUTT HOUCK
LEAVES WIFE'S FATE UNSOLVED
Family Believe Her Dead or Imprisoned as
Former St. Elizabeth Pyschiatrist Is
Freed From Johns Hopkins

| With the release yesterday of DR.
! knutt Houck from Johns Hopkins
! Hospital and his immediate depar-
| ture for his mothers home in Wis
! consin. the strange disappearance OF
| his 2S-year- wife from their Con-
gress Heights apartment last De-
cember apparently had been added
to Washington's list of unsolved
| mysteries.
Mrs. Houck vanished from her
home before dawn on December 15
and has never been heard from since.
Two days later her husband. then
a psychiatrist on the staff Of st.
Elizabeth's Hospital. was found wan
| dering the streets of HorneH n. Y,
CARRIED only in his underwear and
babbling incoherencies about Allah. :
After a month of investigation.
during which they were frequently
| assisted by the authorities of other
cities, the police admitted that hey
were at loss to know whether Mrs.
| Houck had been murdered or com
mitted suicide, or whether she had
| fed from her husband following Il
| violent quarrel and buried her iden-
| tity permanently.
Fate of Mrs. HOuck Unknown.
| There the case stands today. Nc
person. so far as the authorities have
been able to learn, knows whether
Mrs. Houck is dead or alive, or what
| fate overlook her the night she dis
appeared. leaving her 2l2 year-old son
to the care of father who was plung
| ing over the brink of complete men
tai breakdown.
Mrs. Houck's parents, Mr.. and Mrs
John Walter, of Canton, Ohio, are con
WINGED. however, that their daughter
| is dead. In this opinion they are join
| ed by their son, Earl V. Walter. and
| son-in-law, Capt. Ben r. Clarke
Bertillion expert of the Canton Pc
| lice Department, both of whom assist
ed in the early investigation in Wash
| ington for several days.
! Until I see Gladys again l shall
never believe that she was not muir.
| dered," her brother declared this week
to reporter for The Star, who went
| to Canton for the purpose of determin-
ing whether Mrs. Houck had sought
refuge with her parents. To this Mr.
| Walter. her father. nodded assent and
short time before her mother, broken
| hearted over the tragedy that over.
| took her daughter, had expressed a
| similar view.
Wrote Frequently to Son.
DIR. Houck wrote numerous letters
| to his son. Most were phrased with
material to delight child, making no
| reference to the missing mother.
Some were illustrated with quaint
looking elephants and cows and other
| animals. Only one mentioned Mrs.
| Houck to any extent. In this DIR.
Houck told his son not to worry, that
the whereabouts of his mother was
not the business of ''any damned re-
porters."
But some day she viii come back
| to US, old man. and when she does
she will be even kindlier and more
lovely than ever" the letter added.
The Star reporter had gone to Can.
ton because of the belief that was
prevalent in Washington that she had
sought refuge there with her family.
All members of the family expressed
surprise that such a view should have
been taken. They declared they even
| offered to put up a reward for infor-
| nation leading TO her discovery, but
that the Washington police had ask
ed them not to do so.
i know Gladys is dead, or else