The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1955-07-14
Pistol Packin' Kidnaper Keeps ToWn
And Country In UprOar Over Week End
Exon Captured
By Local Farmer
And His Two Sons
After Shooting Spree In
Beaverdam, Fugitive
Hides Out In BlufftOn

1t was like chapter out of dime
novel with tough hombre at large,
shooting and kidnapping on the
streets of Beaverdam and Bluffton,
and generally keeping the populace
in an uproar last week end until law
and order was restored by an irate
Bluffton farmer and his two sons.
After Bracy White, 81, Nashville,
Tenn, was safely lodged in the Han
cock county Jail and his picture ap-
peared with his captors in the Find
lay Republican Courier, half dozen
Bluffton citizens learned they had
been face-to-face with the gun totin'
ex-con without knowing it Saturday
evening and Sunday morning.
That was after White had shot up
Beaverdam on Friday night.
At least two local families fed the
fugitive from a Beaverdam posse. He
had apparently slept Friday night in
the fields between Beaverdam and
Bluffton. Then he hid out in some
ones garage in Bluffton Saturday
night, he later confessed.
Makes Mistake
1t was when White decided to kid
nap Roger Gossard, of North Main
street, early Sunday morning, that he
made the mistake leading to his ar
rest.
Gossard was getting his car from
the municipal parking lot at the rear
of the Town Hall about 1880 a. m,
when White approached up the alley
wearing sun glasses.
"He told me he had been in a
fight with several fellows and want
ed lift out of the corporation
limits" Gossard said.
when / told him that wasn't
anything to get excited about, and
that it was only a short walk out of
town, he pulled a gun out of his
pocket and stuck it in my ribs"
young Gossard explained later.
Gossard drove north up the Dixie
with White holding the pistol on him
from the back seat.
Il kept asking him where he want
ed to go, and why he didn't let me
out and take the car" Gossard said.
"You just keep driving" the
Bluffton man was advised.
When the auto approached the
drive of Gossard's fathers farm a
bout two miles north of town, he
slowed down and halted, telling his
ddnapper that he was just too ner-
vous to continue.
Escapes Gunman
''At this point l didn't have to act
nervous" Gossard said, because he
had decided to run for it into his
fathers house. II knew he would
have to shoot through the closed
window and / thought the bullet
would be deflected enough to MISS"
Gosard reasoned.
When he jumped out, he yelled for
help and hid behind a garage build
ing.
The shouts brought the elder Mr.
Gossard, Myrle, and his other son,
Earl, out of the house with shotguns.
The fugitive attempted to operate
the Gossard auto which had been left
with the motor running. He stalled
it, however, and then jumped out
and started running for the nearby
Nickle Plate railroad.
Kidnaper Captured
Myrle fired one shotgun blast over
his head, and Earl soon overlook
him and, with shotgun leyeled, made
him drop his pistol.
AS the Gossards drove White to
Findlay to turn him over to Sher-
ifs Deputy Harry Altman, Roger
learned several things which would
have made his "ride" less fearful had
he known them earlier.
White, who has spent most of his
life in prison, could not drive an
auto. He had been behind bars for
20 years.
The % calibre bullets were CEN
tered in the firing chamber of the
larger calibre pistol by means of
wrapping them with paper. Because
the hammer was set to hit in the
center instead of the edge of the rim
fired bullets, they probably would
not have fired.
Admits Burglary
The pistol was one of five stolen
from the Butler Drug Store in Lima
Friday night. Another of the stolen
guns was dropped while going over
fence in Beaverdam Friday night.
1t had been used to kdnap Lima cab
driver Frank Adams in Lima and
force him to drive to Beaverdam. In
that town, the taxi driver had jump
ed from his cab while White fired
six shots at him. One struck the cab
and two others smashed a window
n