The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-05-19
Acting Coroner Enacts Last Roll In Tragedy
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NNO11U1l1uCU the small boat and attached the line to a belt in the lads jacket. The policemen then pulled the body to shore, and carried it up from the bank of the dam.
 Dr. Merrill was notified, and while his arrival was being awaited. De- tective- Lieut.. William Foley defi- nitely identified the body as that of Jackie Grady. There were several small rips in the lads clothing, in- dicating that the body might have been held underwater by stumps or branches.
 No Doubt About Accident
 After preliminary examination at the scene, Dr. Merrill said he had no doubt that death had been caused by accidental drowning, but ordered the body removed to St. Mary's hos pital for an autopsy. On completion of the autopsy late last night, he said that his original view had been confirmed.
 The spot where the body was IcCOfCICN 10 tWO VI bWO 04AA eS AAeh24 miles from the Grady home, a con- siderable distance for four year old to walk alone. The trip meant that the boy had to cross heavily travel led Meriden road and East Main street.
 News Spread Rapidly | AS word of the finding of the body spread about the city hundreds of persons drove or walked to the i scene. Police halted all traffic on Harpers Ferry road between Plank road and Hamilton avenue, and kept the spectators on the bank above the edge of the dam.
 The point where the body was found is very near the much-dls- cussed "corkscrew bridge" on Har- perS Ferry road, which residents of the neighborhood are seeking to have replaced by a newer and safer span.
 As news of the recovery of the body was received by Jackie's par ents, his father had just returned from visit to his mothers grave at the cemetery.
 The funeral of the boy will be held Saturday morning from the Gates avenue home, at 8:15 a. m., with high mass of requiem at the Church of SS. Peter & Paul at 3 o'clock. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery. Friends may call at the home.
 Vanished March 23
 The search for Jackie Grady be- gan on the evening of March g, when the worried father and mother called for help when he failed to re- turn home by dark. The first aid was given by neighbors, who joined with MT. Grady in search through the swamp and woodland which be- gin only a few score feet from the boys home.
 Policemen and firemen were called in when no trace of the lad was discovered, and all night long the entire wooded area was covered. The boys dog had returned home late in the afternoon, wet and bed- raggled, and it was first believed that the boy might have been lost in the swamp or perhaps caught in the moraSs.
 As daylight arrived after the night-long quest, Police Superinten- dent William J. Roach and Fire Chief Thomas F. Cavanaugh extend- ed the scope of the search. Police men on duty, aided by police and fire department volunteers, spread the search through several square miles of the East End section. Brooks and streams were dragged and sev- eral ponds in the swamp were drained.
 Theory after theory was investi- gated by police. One was that the boy had been struck by a hit-and- run driver and his body carried away, another that he had been kid- naped or taken away by someone mentally unbalanced, and still an- other that mother complex" had led passing motorist to pick up the lad and take him away. Search Concentrated
 Early in the search, part of the efforts were concentrated at the Scoyill dam, after several persons had reported seeing small boy and dog near the water on the after noon of Jackie's disappearance. It was thought that the boy might have wandered on the thin ice of the pond and fallen in when the ice gave way.
 Several boats were pressed into service, and policemen and firemen dragged the entire dam several times. At the start of the dragging, most of the dam was still ice-cov- cred but thaw set in a day or two later, making the work easier.
 Two divers from New Haven came to Waterbury and explored the bot- tom of the dam at several points, but reported no sign of any body. Special underwater lights were rigged up by former Supt. Of Fire Alarms Charles K. Ahearn and Elec- trical Inspector Martin o,Rourke.
 AS c final resort at the dam, several charges Of dynamite were set off. in the hope that the detonatlon would send the body to the surface