The Coolidge examiner., 1930-12-19
RANCHER'S BODY
FOUND IN WELL
Discovery Climaxes Weird
Mystery More Battling
Than Fiction.

tDdL mas ever Ddlileu uCllOn uelCC-
tives or flashed on the movie thrill
er screen, the body of Frank Roder-
lex, forty-year-old prosperous ranch
er Of San Mateo county, has been
removed from the bottom of a well
&c feet deep on the ranch on the
Alpine road, one mile south of La
Honda.
AS a result of the discovery OF
Roderick's body, his crushed skull
showing how his life had been end
ed by a powerful blow from be-
hind, the rancher's wife, Minnie
Roderick, thirtythree, and the
"hired hand of the ranch, William
Woodring, forty-four, were in Jail
al Redwood City.
"A Red-Haired GAL"
Although the Roderick ranch is
only a few minutes by automobile
from the heart of sophisticated San
Francisco, and in the center of a
vacation and summer home terri
tory, the history of the disappear
ance of Roderick and the events
preceding and following it are such
as might be expected of the days Of
80 years ago when California was
frontier land and life was held
cheaply.
Cattle rustling, in which a nine
year-old son of Roderick's helped
him drive off steers from neighbor-
ing ranches-jealOusy of a wife
over a "red-haired gal"-glances OF
affection exchanged between the
boss wife and the cowboy from dis
tant partS-battle to the death-be-
trayal by confederates in crime
the astute sheriff who solves the
mystery-all the requirements or
the western thriller" are present
in copious quantity
Cattle RustIing Hinted.
The story dates back eight months
when Sheriff James J. McGrath
went into the Alpine country to in
vestigate reports of cattle rus
Ting" There had been complaints
from the Gallagher & link ranch
end the Lillicote ranch near the
Roderick ranch that cows and
steers had mysteriously disappeared
on dark nights. A dozen head were
missing altogether. The sheriff was
unable to pin anything on anybody,
but he closely questioned Roderick
and Woodring at that time.
The next chapter came May 20
last, when Mrs. Roderick came TO
visit District Attorney Franklin d.
Swart at Redwood City. She said
her husband had beaten her severe
ly, had dressed up in his "store
Clothes" had put $500 in his
pocket, and had disappeared with a
''redheaded gal"
Swore Out Complaint.
On Swart's advice she swore out
a warrant for her husband on
battery charge. But Sheriff Nc
Grath, remembering his suspicious
of few months before, questioned
Mrs. Roderick closely when she
asked him to serve the warrant.
McGrath finally elected informa-
tion from the wife which led him
to visit the Mindigo ranch, also in
the AlpIu6 QISllI(l. buIlSo dlldCl
the floor boards OF ranch out
house he found many steer hides
unmistakable signs of cattle rus
tiers who had run off steers-had
butchered them, had sold the beef,
and had hidden the evidence Of the
branded hides.
Again the sheriff questioned
Woodring-Roderick of course was
missing-but again he was baffled.
Sheriff McGrath continued to
brood over the story. He was non
plused, and McGrath is a man who
likes things open and above board.
SO he returned to the Roderick
ranch and found young Filbert Rod
erick, nine-year-old son of the
rancher, alone. He adroitly en-
gagged the lad in conversation.
A few minutes later the sheriff
had drawn from the boy the in
formation that he had accompanied
his father "and another rancher"
when they drove off big roam steer
from the Gallagher & link ranch
one dark night.
Father Killed Steer.
They had taken the steer to the
Mindigo ranch, where the father
had killed it with % rife, left it
to dry in the ranch house, and the
next day had sold the beef.
After his talk with the boy, Nc
Grath arrested Ernest Hildebrand,
owner of a nearby ranch, and took
him to Redwood City for question
ing. Hildebrand was not charged,
and was released after a few hours.
But that afternoon the sheriff con-
fided to Undersheriff Edward Far.
rell that he ''had a tip" Roderick
had been murdered and his body
buried in a well near his home.
The two went to the Roderick
ranch and found Woodring busy in
the vicinity of the ranch house
with a borrowed scraper. He had
been blowing and scraping several
acres of land near the house which
was not used for agriculture, al
though grain in the fields, accord
ing to the sheriff, was in need Of
attention.
The sheriff looked for the well.
1t was nowhere to be seen. All the
land near the ranch house had
been plowed and scraped, and
showed no signs Of well ever hav-
ing existed
But McGrath was determined to
find the well. By searching through
county records, he discovered that
Rndnri cIr had rnrrch q God tho ro onnh