Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-08
RIVER IS DRAGGED
FOR MRS. HOUCK
Finding of Scarf by Duck
| Hunter Leads to New But
Futile Search.

Police of the harbor precinct today
dragged another area of the Potomac
River on the theory that the body OF
Mrs. GLADYS w Houck missing since
December Il or Is. is in in the water
hut without result The latest of -four
dragging operations was undertaken
this morning following the finding OF
n brown WOODEN neck scarf when was
picked UP Christmas day ana turned
over-to the police yesterday afternoon.
The scarf. only partly wet and f1oat.
ing on the Virginia channel slde OF
the ,.ver lust south of the steel plant
wharf. caused investigators to search
This norton of the river, dlthouSh
they doubted any connection between
the article and Mrs. Houck dlSap-
pearance.. .,,o
A crew from the precinct. in me
wind and biting cold operated al ana
about the place where the scarf was
found for two and ohe-ha,i houi -
THE crew was composed OF PVT. r.
NJ Howard. Alexander Mckie, g r..
f.aDoy and Charles Donaldson. Upon
tbcir return to the harbor precinct
1hc mon announced they were con-
WINGED as far as they know that no
body is in the area which theF
searched.
Found Christmas Day.
The scarf was fished out of the
k-ix,ar about s O'Clock Christmas morn
ing nv George Bashford. 900 h street
so7,tboast who was duck hunting.
Baebford told capt. James Wilson ana
Precinct Detective Manning OF NO. II
station last night that IL was partiH
wet. and Il could have shaken II out
at the time and put 1t around my
the t10ntlnp
object Bashford said. he thought IL
s,rac a duck. hut after he recovered the
half-drv article he tossed it in the Dot
1oo of the boat and thought nothing
more about it,
Rashford said the scarf was found
On the Virginia channel side OF the
river. lust a little to the south OF the
old steel plant wharf. He hung II up
on a nail in his boathouse. near Alex
andria. did not establish II as having
a hearing on Mrs. Houck's disappear
ance and gave the matter no more at
tention until Thursday noon. when ne
was asked by newspaper man over
the telephone if he had found a wom-
ans coat. Bashford said he had not,
but that he had picked up scarf
Denies Ever Seeing Scarf.
Detective Manning is endeavoring
men known to be duck hunting on
the river near where Bashford was
christmas day. in order to find out IL
the scarf belonged to any one OF
Them, The article appears to be that
which would be worn by man. dc-
cording to Bashford and the police.
Bashford could not recall noticing any
.blood spots" on it. although the
article yesterday displayed two dark
blotches which the District chemists
today declared to be blood. They We're
unable TO state if it was human blood
however, and added it would require
iwo or three DAYS to determine this
fact.
Headquarters Detective Benjamin
Kuehling visited DIR. Knutt Houck,
husband of the missing woman ana
who has been under observation first
at Gallinger and now at Walter Reed
Hospital since December 20, and show
ed him the scarf. but the st. Eliza
beths psychiatrist was unable TO
identify it as being the property OF
Mrs. Houck. His wife owned three
scarfs, he told the detective, and then
did not fit the scarf kuehling had
held concealed. and then the detec-
tive produced il.
ibid YOU ever see that scarf be-
fore?" kuehling asked him.
mo" replied Houck, Il don't think
j ever saw that before" In answer
TO further questions he stated his
wife might have had one like that
for the baby" but if she did. he didn't
know about it.
Identified by Nurse Girl.
Previously Margaret Wines. 16-year-
old student at Eastern High School,
and who served as a nurse girl for the
Houck baby up until the disappear
ance of both DIR. and Mrs. Houck, had
declared positively to Capt. Wilson
that the scarf was Mrs. Houck's prop
erty. Margaret said she had seen it
about Mrs. Houck's shoulders often
and that she wore it about the house.
The last time the girl saw it, however,
was the Friday before the Tuesday or
"Wednesday Mrs. Houck was last
heard from.
Detective kuehling last night visit
ed several women in Congress Heights
who had been in the Houck home, and
none of them was able to recall ever
having seen the missing woman wear
tho article in question. Temporarily
abandoning the theory that the scarf
may have belonged to :. duck hunter,
and disregarding the fact that Bash
ford said it was only partly wet when
picked up, indicating ii had been in
the water but a short time. Detective
kuehling planned today to submit the
wooden article TO a floating test" lie
wants to satisfyhim self, he said, thar
the scarf either would float when
completely wet or would sink after ii
is in the water short time.
Detective Manning has been work
ing diligently during the past few
weeks in an effort To establish by wit
nesses when Mrs. Houck left her
apartment at 1927 Nichols avenue, or
the night of December IA or the morn.
ing Of December -. The only in
formation on this subject the police
have is from DR.. HIouck, who says he
thought he heard her go out. although
he cannot positively state he saw her
leave the apartment.
The harbor precinct crew dragged
the area in which the scarf was
picked up from until 1870 O'Clock
in the biting cold and high wind.
Upon their return 10 the precinct
station they declared they were rea.
sGnably certain that no body was in
the water they had combed with
graphing hooks. The crew was com
posed of Pvt. r. NJ. Howard. AleXan.
der McKie. {. T.. LaDoW and Charles
Donaldson.
Donaldson. regarded as an expert in
recovering bodies from the water. de
clared empha tically today if the miss
ing woman is in the river, the body
would not appear 10 the surface be
fore Spring or at a time when tbs
temperature of the water becomes
warm
Chinese to Study Red Army.