Evening star., 1939-12-18
Lost Child
Continued From First Page.)

before ne was returned to his home
here.
The child explained that he had
gotten lost when he wandered into
the woods to play Indian" He said
he walked about all night" and then
lay down by the log to take a nap"
Dicky was given hot food and
wrapped in blankets Immediately
on arrival at his home. After an
other examination, a family physi-
clan ordered him kept perfectly
quiet for about "a hours.
Il guess he still is pretty frozen" +"
his mother said this afternoon, but
he says he feels all right. We are
all so glad to get him back safely
we can hardly do enough for him" :"
Six hours before Dicky was found
bloodhounds from Lorton Reforma-
tory, aiding a posse of C. c. C. boys,
State troopers and farmers, traced
the child's footprints to a ditch be-
side the Aden- Independence Hill
road, but there the trail ended.
The c. c. c. youth who found
Dicky said the boys scarf was dis
covered by him and krick a few
minutes before he saw the missing
child.
Part of the posse suspended the
search at 3 am, but others con-
tinued through the night. Among
the latter were four State police
Sergt. Percy Blythe and officers A.
L. Felts, j. w. Clarke and r. A.
Simme-who described the area as
so thick with underbrush and scrub
trees I'VE almost became lost our
selves"
Searchers Called In.
When Stanley, and Joe returned
with the. boy, sirens on police cars
were sounded to call in the other
searchers, but at II o'clock more
than 60 were still missing.
The picnic was arranged by the
Clarendon Lutheran Church to cut
greens to trim the church for Christ
mas and Dicky was taken on the
outing by his mother, an employe
of the Pathfinder Magazine.
Mrs. Williams has been living at
the Otis street address with her par
ents, Mr.. and Mrs. E. j. Almquist,
since her divorce from John Ashby
Williams, I'd, now employed as a
w. P, A. engineer in Alabama.
The church members were sitting
around campfire in a clearing
about two miles west of Independent
Hill and about nine miles south of
Manassas when Dicky decided to
shoot Indians" and walked of
brandishing toy pistol
Members of the party called to
him several times and he answered
their shouts. A few moments later
they set out to look for him, but
could not locate the boy, although
twice within a period of 20 minutes
he was heard to scream.
Farmers and police finally were
called. and within an hour the
posse numbered 300, including 80
youths from the C. C. c. camp at
Joplin. Others from the camp later
joined in the search. Capt. Paul
Bigelowe at the Lorton Reformatory
was notified, and he arrived on the
scene with three bloodhounds.
The posse had no clothes belong
ing to Dicky to give the hounds
the scent, and a neighbor in Wash
ington hurried to the scene with
several articles of wearing apparel
belonging to the boy.
The dogs dashed off into the
woods covering the 1,700-acre Brill
tract on which Dicky disappeared
and traced him to the ditch along
the Independent Hill-Aden road.
In the searching party at the
time were the boys maternal grand
father, Mr.. Almquist, an employe in
the Ordinance Bureau at the War
Department.; an uncle, John r.
Almquist, who is teacher at Lang
ley Junior High School, and other
relatives
Huge bonf1res were lit in an at
tempt to guide the child to the
searchers. Others in the posse
spread out over the vast Brill tract
with flashlights, lanterns and
torches lighting their way. Lights
were placed in every home and
store window around Independent
Hill in hopes that the boy might
see them.
In the picnic party when the child
wandered away were William N
Lynch, "a; his son, Willard Piggot
%; the latter's wife, Eleanor; thei1
daughter, Beverly, and son, Mickey
4, all of Falls Church; Mr.. and Mrs
Vernon Vaden of Arlington, and
James Williams of Falls Church, 8
cousin of the missing youngster'.
father.
Dicky, a student at Peter Par
Nursery School, 800 block of Ferr
street NV, was wearing brown
leather sheepskin lined coat, brown
corduroy overalls, green shoes and a
brown wool hat. He was warmly
dressed, but searchers at first were
fearful he might become trapped in
thick underbrush or fall into 9
| stream.
Shortly before Dicky set out te
play a colored man attempted te
rob Mrs. Charles Copen of Wash
ington, who was sitting in q parked
car half mile away, and the posse
also hunted for him while looking
for the boy.
Mrs. "OPENS husband and son left
her in the car and entered the wood.
to cut Christmas tree. When thu
colored man appeared Mrs. Copper
frightened him OF with her SON.
toy gun.