Evening star., 1928-03-22
IDENTIFY MYSTERY
WOMAN AS NURSE
Chloroform Victim Believed to
Be Mrs. Mary True.
Fights for Life.

Brought back from the borderland oil
death by the alchemy of science and
skill a woman identified this morning
as Mrs Mary True nurse at Suffolk
Sanatorium. Long Island, pronounced
dead yesterday only to be found alive
when she reached the morgue. is fight
ing for life at Casualty Hospital.
At o'clock this afternoon the
patient was breathing naturally, with
good respiratory action and a fairly
strong pulse The oxygen inhalator was
dispensed with at l O'Clock this MORN
ing when she took turn for the better
Described by Physician.
DR. Edwin P. Kolb, superintendent OF
the sanatorium, which is at Holtsyille,
Long Island, gave a description OF the
missing nurse which tallies In every
respect to that of the patient. More
than a score Of persons attempted to
identify her last night. but failed when
told that her upper teeth are gold. DR..
Kolb not only described accurately her
teeth and general physical appearance.
but gave detailed and correct descrip-
ton Of her cloak and baggage.
pencil note in the handwriting of
Mrs. True, whose father, Frank Nc
Robie, lives near Altamont, Md, was re-
ceived yesterday by the physician. He
stated that 1t bore New York post
mark and indicated that 1t had been
mailed at II o'clock Tuesday night
Just half an hour after the departure
Of the train from which she had mailed
two letters. 1t was unsigned and stated
simply that she would not be back"
Husband Killed In Blast.
DR.. Kolb stated that Mrs. True. whose
husband was killed in a mine explosion
several years ago, had been nurse
at his sanitorium for the past two years.
She was OF a nervous temperament, he
said. and was former tubercular pa
tient at the West Virginia Sanitarium,
Hopemont, w. Va. Her sister also lveS
near Altamont. She could not be
reached this morning.
Distant relatives of Mr.. McRobie
stated over the telephone this afternoon
that he lived in the receSseS OF 6acK
Bone Mountain, near wilson, Mo-
and could not be reached by telephone
The roads, they said, were lmpasSaole,
owing to heavy snowfall, but an at
tempt will be made TO climb TO MS
mountain home and tell him that a
woman. believed TO be his daughter, Is
in a diving condition here. All OF them
| knew Mrs. True and their DESCRIPTION
of her corresponded to that given oy
DR.. Kolb.
Has Fighting Chance.
While the patients condition is ex-
tremely critical, physicians declared at
moon today that she has "a fighting
chance" to recover. Early this morn
ing diaphragm breathing set IN ana the
oxygen inhalator, which had kept a!iVe
the feeble spark Of life since the dis
covery of It's existence at O'CLOCK yes
terday morning, was removed.
Although she is in coma, induceo
by a powerful anesthetic, apparently
self-administered as she lay N heI
berth on a train which brought ner
here from New York when her body was
discovered. her respiration was nearly
normal this morning and her pulse was
full, though irregular, Her respiration
was l6. Normal respiration Is from 10
to 20 Her pulse was 68. she mas
never regained consciousness.
ChIoroform Is Offset.
The oxygen treatment, administered
for is consecutive hours by members OF
the Fire Department rescue squad as
physicians injected StimulantS, finally
resorting to a blood TRANSMISSION, is be-
lieved to have dispelled some Of the
effects of the chloroform. which she
inhaled and swallowed. The inhalator
was removed at o'clock this morning
| AT $50 o'clock she took a decided turn
for the better and at 7:10 o'clock men,
berS of the rescue squad ended their
/ 22hour vigil They are subject 10 recall
at any time, however
After her removal from the office of
the morgue. which had been turned
into an inprovised hospital room when
w, NJ. Schoneberger, the morgue mas
ter, and w w. Estes. his assistant
detected a telltale twitching of the
throat muscles which indicated life, to
the hospital. more than rs persons tele-
phoned for information, many Of them
seeking TO identify her.
First Pronounced Dead.
william Earle, porter. who discovered
her body. fully clothed except for the
shoes. with a piece of chloro.orm-
soaked gauze clutched III one hand and
two vials nearby. stated that he mailed
two letters for her shortly after she
boarded his train In New York. She
asked him to awaken her at $50 and
when he went to do so he found her
unconscious, apparently lifeleSS. A
washington Terminal physician viewed
the body and pronounced her dead,
stating that she had been dead tor at
least an hour,
After eight hours of patient work In
the little office OF the Morgue, where
the woman lay on mattress, 1t was
decided TO attempt blood TRANSMISSION.
All OF the members of the rescue SQUAD
volunteered 10 give their blood, but a
test indicated that her blood matched
that OF Pvt d. J. Mccarthy, 1901 Mary
land avenue northeast, a member OF the
squad.
TRANSMISSION Successful.
After consultation between DIR.
Joseph y, Rogers, assistant coroner and
Drs. j, W. Ballard A. NJ. Mcdonald
and Leon Gordon of Casualty Hospital
the TRANSMISSION was successfully made
The fireman'S blood was removed as he
sat in the inquest room. adjoining the
Office.
Two nurses, Miss Elizabeth McCooe
and Miss A. NJ, Denlinger. assisted In
the operation. AT q o'clock it was
deemed safe 10 remove her 70 the hos
pital. For the first time her clothing
was removed and she was placed In a
bed. Then the oxygen inhalator was
placed III position and the patient work
OF resuscitation resumed.
DR. Ballard gave injections of glucose
and soda this morning and Or Rogers.
who is also head OF Casualty Hospital,
stated that the patient had "a fighting
chance" AS yet she gives no response
to external stlmulants,
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CTrnIlAki tn CTrk