Evening star., 1938-05-30
MISCONCEPTIONS
Of FPETERLEV|NE'S
BODY ARE HUNTED
Torso Is Found Trussed by
Wire-Boatmen Search
for Killer Evidence.
WIND AND TIDE CHARTS
STUDIED BY F.B. |. MEN
Try to Locate Approximate Scene
of Death in Waters of
Long Island Sound.
BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
Children in recent major kid
napings haze, ,uith the exception OF
George Weyerhauser, 8. been slain
or neper found. Peter LeUine's
fate waS similar to that OF Charles
Mdttson, also IL, WhoSe nude,
battered body was found in sno,r.
Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr.: Bobby
Franks OF Chicago, Marian Parker
OF Los Angeles, Grace Budd OF
Neu York and Marian Mclean OF
Cincinnati Were slain. Bill Gdf-
ney of Ne,p York has been missing
since 1917, Uhcn he Uas 4.
By the associated Press.
NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y, May so
One hundred local police and G-men
searched nearby shores today for
remnants of the body of kidnapped H.
year-old Peter Levine. whose wire
trussed. headless torso was yielded up
last night by the waters of Long Is
land Sound after three tragic months.
Scores of irate residents joined the
search. Dozens of small volunteer
boats patrolled the coast. seeking evil
dence that might point somehow to
the killer.
Detective 1t. George Reifenberger
expressed belief that the boy. cruelty
cut by the wire that bound the body,
had been tossed into the sound
whether alive or dead, it still remains
to be determined-from a boat, per-
haps in the vicinity Of Rye or Ma
maroneck, 7 miles above New Rochelle.
Winds and Tides Studied.
Police and Federal agents. headed
by J. Edgar Hoover, F. B. I. chief
and Reed Veterrli. veteran head OF
his New York staff, spent the night
studying charts Of wind and tide
movements, trying thus to locate the
approximate scene of death.
Any hope that the thin strands
of copper wire which bound the
body-only tangible clue to the mur-
derAmight lead to quick solution
of the case was dispelled by 1t.
Reifenberger.
They could have bought it at any
l0-cent store" he said.
Discovery of the body, identified by
clothing, was the first development
in the case in several weeks and
confirmed the growing dread in his
family that he would never be re-
turned alive.
Ransom notes had been found and
answered: Murray Levine the father,
had publicly offered to pay $4,000.
There was no conclusive answer
from the abductors. and the whole
case of missing Peter Levine had
been all but forgotten until. just after
dusk last night, woman telephoned
the police:
There's body out here!"
Name Stitched in Shirt.
They found, then, what was left of
Peter Levine-a Wire-bound torso only,
the head gone. the hands and feet
gone, and only patched-sleeved
sweater. a red windoreaker and a
shirt. with the name Peter Levine
stitched in it, to make the identifica-
ton certain. The body had come
ashore on an estate bordering the
sound not far from the boys home.
DR.. Amos o. Squire. Westchester
County medical examiner, said it
would be almost impossible to tell just
what had caused Peters death-knife
blow or droWning-but added that his
preliminary examination indicated the
boy had been slain and his body tossed
into the sound
With slim hopes of ever capturing
the slayer, Federal agents began a
comprehensive check of boatmen for
miles up and down the bay from the
jagged-rock shore of Davenport Neck.
where the boys headless body was
found-only 3 miles away from his
home in New Rochelle.
There's just chance, now that the
body has been found. that some one
will recall having seen a strange boat
in the vicinity" one of the F. B. 1.
men said.
Nine Strand Wire.
County Medical Examiner Squire
said the wire which bound Peters
mutilated torso was a strand
copper wire which might have been
taken from radio set.
THE remains are so badly decom-
posed that it is impossible to tell how
the head was severed" DR.. Squire said
after performing an autopsy.
Nor is it possible to determine
whether the boy was dead or alive
when thrown into the water All we
can hope to find out from laboratory
tests of the vital organs is whether he
was poisoned"
DR.. Squire said it was apparent that
the body had been weighted down,
delaying recovery possibly for weeks.