Evening star., 1935-05-31
REDFERN ALIVE,
SAYS ADVENTURER
Tom Roch Produces Diary
to Prove Story About
American Aviator.

fCopyrivht 1855. by the Associated Press)
COLON. Panama. May 3l.-Tom
Foch. the German-American ad-
venturer. last night produced bat
tered diary to corroborate his oft-dis-
believed tale that Paul Redfern, the
American aviator who has been miss
ing nearly eight years, Is alive IN a
South American jungle.
Redfern, he claims, is crippled and
living with Indians - too badly
smashed up in a plane crash to move
without the assistance Of an expedi-
tion.
Roch reached the Canal Zone re-
Gently from South America, was ar
rested as a vagrant, and told his tale
of Redfern. He dug out the diary
Yesterday from his duff1e in the bag
gage room of the Cristobol pier. 1t is
written partly in English, but mostly
in German.
On the inside cover of the book,
there is the penciled notation: In
case something happens to me, here
Is the truth Of Paul Redfern, missing
aviator, 1927, plane NX773. Tom
Roch."
On the top of the same page the
following is written: Mrs. Gertrude
Paul Redfern, Toledo, Ohio, U. S. A.
Roch claims this to be the address
given him by the aviator
Was Nuts With Fever"
Asked why he never told Ameri-
can Government officials in Trinidad
or Venezuela his story. RoCh replied
Il was nuts with fever all the time y
DR.. c. A. Hearne the chief quaran-
tine officer of the Panama Canal in
Cristobol said that Roch had one
nf the worst cases Of malaria I have
ever seen" when he reached the
Zone
Roch insists he told his story to
Canal Zone police several times. but
says they refused to listen to him, de-
Claring he was not to be believed. He
also asserts that the members Of the
crews of Standard Oil Co. tankers on
which he worked as an assistant engi-
neer, all heard the story from him.
Could Not Get to United States.
As to why he never notified the
aviators father. Dr. Frederick c. Red
fern, he said:
Il could not get to the United States
tried to stow away three times. but
each time I was brought back and
jailed"
Here is Roch's story:
During a trip up the Amazon, Roch
met three jungle Indians. They mo-
toned to him to follow them. He
padded his cayuco "a small South
American native boat) up a little
river and entered large lake.
After two or three hours on this
lake he saw village containing
nearly 100 huts. The Indians housed
him there and he endeavored to talk
to them in both Portuguese tthe ma
tionsl language of BraziD and Span
ish. but they were unable to converse
in those languages.
Visited by Chief.
In this village he lived and fished
with the Indians for week. There
came a day when Chief Kirikiriscoto
of the tribe occupying the village
came to him and pointed at the differ
ences in the coloring of their skins
in an effort to tell Roch that an
other white man was further up the
lake.
1T took me two or three days to
figure out what he was trying to tell
me-" said Roch.
Finally. with two guides. Roch en-
tered the cayuco and padded along
the lake. One of the guides drew a
picture of a bird on the sand and
attempted to say by the sign language
that a white man had flown down
from the sky. adding, with more ges-
lures, that he was hardly able to
move.
Roche wrote a note which he dis
patched with the Indian. saying,
please send me your name and con-
dition on a banana leaf
He said the Indian returned with
Q palm leaf on which was written
with charcoal: Il am an American
pilot and have been here five years
and am crippled. Please come over
and see me. NX773 Paul Redfern, u
Ne1uScU 10 henueI Alo.
Roch asserts that at the time he
did n know who Redfern was.
He says he went on till he reached
Q hut in which Redfern, helpless ano
unable to return alone to civilization
was living. He asked his Indian
guides to assist him in carrying Red
fern out, but the guides, harboring
the white man under a medicine
man superstition" refused to render
aid.
Roch said that Redferns hut was
on piles about feet above the ground
that it was thatched with palm leaves
and that the fabric from airplane
wings was useti as door flap to keer
out the mosquitoes at night. Theil
meeting, said Roch. was as follows
Roch-Hello. mister. What's the
matter with you?
Redfern-Hello, yourself Whats
your name?
Says Roch: He was approximately
Sl2 feet tall and of small build. HI
had dark hair, mark on his necl