Imperial Valley press., 1929-06-13
HYSTERIA MARKS
EFFORTS TO FIND
TALLMAN TRAIL
Hunt Resembles Search
For Hickman Along Pa
cific Coast.
BY GEORGE H. BEALE
Omitted Press Staff Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, June 13. U.R-
The search for William Loren Tall
man, radio man suspected of the
murder of beautiful Mrs. Virginia
Patty, today assumed some of the
hysteria that marked the famous
manhunt two years ago for William
Edward Hickman.
Reports of sighting Tallman
came trickling in from all over the
Pacific coast just as Hickman then
was reported seen in a score of
widely separated points at one
time.
Local Officers were without a
clew to the radio man s whereabouts
today after a hectic night spent in
running down false leads.
The North Wilcox avenue resi-
Dental district was the scene of a
most intensive and entirely unneces-
sary hunt through the early morn.
ing hours.
Scores of detectives were rushed
to ,the section after Mrs. Harry
Stern reported that man she be
ieved to be Tallman had entered
her apartment, bound her with
towels and then escaped after tax.
ing food and her purse.
Officers swarmed around the dis
trict until fingerprints left by the
marauder were found not to cores
pond with those of the man accused
Of beating Mrs. Patty to death with
paving brick.
Mrs. Stern had named Tallman
as the intruder after she viewed a
photograph of the murder suspect.
The fact that Mrs. Stern s un-
wanted visitor needed a shave and
wore a soiled blue suit was consid.
cred pertinent at first.
Police pointed out that Tallman
when last seen was wearing such a
suit and that hiding out he prob
ably had not had time to use a
razor. After the fingerprint experts
ruled Mrs. Stern s. visitor out of
the play police pointed out that
most anyone might have soiled
blue suit and lack the price of q
shave.
Another disturbance occurred al
the harbor after the S. s. San juan
messaged that it was inbound to
San Pedro with a stowaway.
Officers met the boat and pounc-
ed upon the stowaway under the i'm
preston that he might be Tallman
but the stowaway said he was Carl
Spano of 1902 Anaheim street.
Long Beach, and later proved that
he was Carl Spano of that address.
Have Good Description
Authorities in other Pacific coast
cities were bothered with similar
pseudo Identification of Tallman.
This description accompanied the
marine headquarters fingerprints of
Tallman, which We're found to tally
exactly with bloody prints located
in the Castlebar apartment where
Mrs. Patty's body was found hang
ing from hooks in a clothes closet.
In addition to stating thai Tall
man was 23, six feet tall, weighing
l7o pounds and that his hair was
oiack and his eyes blue, the marine
record said that he had brown
mole on the right side of the bridge
of his nose, wart on the inside of
the right wrist, three vaccination
sears on the back of the left upper
arm and pitted scar on the left
elbow.
The prints and description of Tall
man were recorded when he enlisted
in the marines seven years ago when
he was only l6. His father, Harry
+. Tallman, Oakland, obtained dis
charge for young Tallman on the
ground that he was under age.
Tallman last was seen aboard the
5. s. Admiral Benson Just before it
reached San Francisco two days af-
ter Mrs. Patty's murder was dis
covered.