The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-02-11
SEEK HEAD
Of GIRL AT
. SOUTH BEND
Police Patrol River Banks
for Missing Parts of
Feminine Torso.
NO CLEWS TO IDENTITY
May Be Wife of Murdered
State PatroIman, Theory.

Bu JHucd Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind, Feb. H.
Police were searching the banks of
the st. Joseph River today for addi-
NAL parts of the body of a woman,
whose torso was found at the edge
of the stream late Tuesday.
The head and shoulders had been
several from the body at the seventh
vertebrate, giving rise to the belief
that the body had been dismembered
by surgeon.
The body was found three feet
from the waters edge near St.
Mary's College and Academy, be-
low the city, by Earl Rupe, a city
fireman. The torso was in such a
cramped position that authorities be-
lieve the woman was murdered and
her body placed in trunk or box.
The trunk is believed to have been
battered to pieces in the river, re-
leasing the body The legs had been
broken at the hips and then wired
against the back.
Many Theories
A number of theories were held by
police.
One was that the woman may be
that of Mrs. Lory Price, wife of an
Illinois patrolman, whose body was
found in a swamp near Marion, H.,
Saturday. Mrs. Price has been miss
ing. Measurements of the body re-
spond to that of Mrs. Price, it is
SAID. The patrolman is believed to
have been the victim of Illinois
gangsters.
-Four other women are also miss
ing, although they are all younger
than the murdered woman is be-
lieved to have been. The victim is
also much larger than the descrip.
ton of any of those missing. Her
probable weight was variously es-
timated from 140 to 100 pounds.
Those missing are: Mrs. Mildred
ygart Smith, %, adopted daugh-
of John Swygart, former South
Bend city official Mrs. Mary Stycker.
is, of Mishawaka; Geraldine Way,
II, of Chicago, who disappeared while
visiting at Tishawaka and Alice
Nandusen. %, Of South Bend, a
former employe of st. Mary's.
Police believe the murdered WON
an was about 80 years old. They
gave out her measurements as fol-
lows:
Waist, "a inches; foot, inches;
instep, 8A inches; instep to knee. 10
Inches, and thigh, IS inches.
Illegal Operation
The theory that the woman might
have died from an unsuccessful H.
legal operation and the body thrown
into the river in an effort to hide
traces Of the crime has evolved from
the fact that physicians believe the
woman was in delicate condition at
the time OF death. There were no
bruises or scars on the body:
Vital organs Of the body were sent
today TO the State chemist at In
dianapolis for analysis.
Police are inclined to discredit the
theory that the woman lived or died
here. 1t is generally believed that
her body was brought to the st. Jo-
seph River from some other place.
High waters. which made is pos
sible for the body to have been
carried over either the dam at Mish-
awaka or this city, make it virtually
impossible to determine where the
body was thrown into the river.
A bit of light colored silk stock
ing and remnant of white ribbed
cotton underwear were the only
s.gns of clothing on the body.
Physicians, who examined the
Dody would hazard no guess as to
how long the body had remained in
the water, because of an encrusta-
ton of what is believed to be lime
that coated the body.