Evening star., 1938-08-28
AMNES|A VICTIM
STILL. HUNTS KIN
Shaves His Mustache to
Assist Search for
Identity.

Without his moustache, "Jarre Saw
yer" waited until late hour at Police
Headquarters last night hoping every
minute that Mr.. Spence from Eliza
beth City, N. c., would arrive and
identify him as his nephew, rabbit"
Spence Sawyer" an amnesia VIC
tim. has no knowledge Of his history
before February.
When Sawyer" regained conscious
ness in the bottom OF boat OIL Nor
folk six months ago, his memory was
gone. but he had a closely clipped
black moustache. This adornment he
kept until yesterday, when he had it
cut of on the chance that with a
smooth face he might be more easily
identifed.
Whatever hope Sawyer" has that
he Is Spence" comes from a trip he
made to Jail last month when he was
arrested here on.a charge OF vagrancy.
One Of his Jail mates looked at him
closely and said in greeting:
Hello, Rabbit
SAID He Played Football.
The nickname meant nothing to the
amnesia victim. The jailmate insisted
they had. played football together for
the Cardinal Athletic Club in Eliza
beth City, where the Mr. Spence who
Is the uncle o. rabbit" Spence is an
attorney. The actual Rabbit" has
been missing from his home since
early in February.
When Sawyer found himself un-
able to think Of himself as Spence
with any conviction, the friend in jail
wrote to the athletic club. The club
turned over to Lawyer Spence the in
formation about the amnesia victim
In Washington. The lawyer wrote to
his cousin, E. G. Spence, a policeman
here at the nth precinct asking him
to try to identify Sawyer" But Oficer
Spence had not seen RABBIT" since
he was FIVE years old, and SAWYER
now is about 80. The policeman coald
say nothing positively.
Sawyer keeps close to Detective
Lester Rank, who Is trying to solve
the mystery. Mr. Rank has sent a
special delivery letter TO Mr.. Spence in
Elizabeth City with picture OF
Sawyer"
Found Badly Beaten.
The man without name awoke one
night in February in a little boat in
Norfolk Harbor. His face was battered
A front tooth had been broken. His
new gray suit was torn and bloody. His
gold wrist watch was smashed. His
eyes were black His head ached
f1ercely. Obviously he had been beaten
badly.
Aboard the boat were two men
one Spike and a tattooed Italian
whose name Sawyer" did not get
These two said they had found the
man unconscious on wharf and hao
brought him to their boat to keep him
from being arrested for yagrancy
They asked him not to seek police
aid in looking for his assailants on the
ground that the police would link the
beating to Spike" and the Italian.
Sawyer" discarded his messy coat
and vest and left the men at the
shore. He worked on a barge in Nor
folk for two weeks and then stayed
IN two w. P. A. camps in North Caro-
lima. He was told at Cape Hatteras
that the police in Washington had
vast f1ngerprint files from which they
might identify him.
Arrested Here for Vagrancy.
Sawyer hardly had reached the
District when he was arrested on q
Vagrancy charge. He told Detective
Rank that he was an amnesia victim
but Rank, skeptical. told him to serve
his time in Jail and then return to him
for aid afterward if his memory really
was impaired.
At the Jail came the meeting with
| the man who called him RABBIT" He
was taken to Gallinger Hospital TO,
observation. There he was asked ode
questions, shown maps, awakened ir
the middle OF the night and told name.
all in an effort to test his associa
tions The doctors became convinced
because he was unable to penetrate the
fog hiding his life beyond last Feb.
ruary.
Since "Sawyer's" release from jai
a week ago yesterday, Mr.. Rank has
checked the fingerprint files at the
Department of Justice, the Army, the
Navy and the Marine Corps. None
offers prints which match "Sawyer,s.
He is a very intelligent person, >
the detective said. He is deeply in.
terested in his own case and doina
everything possible to aid in its solu.
tion'
Sawyer is staying at the Gospel
Mission.