Evening star., 1961-08-04
HiJACKING
!, Border Petrol Man Strikes Suddenly,
/. Dropping Bandit With Crushing Blow
Continued From First Page

PaSo on Texas far western tip.
,Bearden and his son, a
slightly built blond youth, en-
tered the cockpit behind two
stewardesses. "We're going to
take this plane to Cuba" the
elder Bearden told Capt. B. D.
Richards, the planes COM
niander. "Alter your course IS
degrees to the south"
Capt. Richards, a veteran Of
81 years Of flying, alerted El
Paso International Airport with
acode word that the plane was
hijacked. Then he persuaded
Bearden that the plane had too
little fuel to fly to Cuba and
that they must land at Ell Paso.
Capt. Richards said Bearden
told him there were four armed
men aboard the plane and the
captain so mesSaged the Ell
Paso field. This caused some
confusion for a time and re-
suited in two Of the hostage
crewmen, mistaken for pirates,
being roughed up as they
alighted.
The plane carried 81 pasSen-
gers, including the two gunner,
and a crew Of four men and
two stewardesses. Among the
passengers was Mr.. Gilman,
en- route on official business to
Brownsville, Tex.
When Capt. Richards, 81
year-old resident Of Redondo
Beach (Calif0, persuaded the
Beardens to allow the passen-
gers to disembark, Mr.. Gilman
volunteered as one of the four
who would stay aboard the
plane.
sBearden had insisted on 10
persons, including the crew, as
hostages, because he said he
feared authorities would not
put much value on six lives"
Then, as Continental's ground
crewmen stalled with refueling
the plane, the younger Bearden
and his father became nervous.
They wanted to exchange the
big Boeing TOT for a DC-6. The
company offered a DC-7. /
But from Washington. mean
time, came the message from
Mr.. Kennedy. Stand firm, the
message said.
Hijackers Order TakeOff
Inside the big jet, the young
Bearden suddenly accused
everybody of stalling. His
father agreed. They ordered
the takeoff. The big plane
rolled down the runway, Border
Patrol cars in pursuit.
Submachine gun and rifle
fire could be heard family over
the noise Of the jet engines.
The plane halted, its tires flat
and an engine damaged, its
pressurized cabin punctured BY
the gunfire. I
Quickly, ambulances, baggage
trailers, trucks and cars with
armed men encircled the dam
aged plane. In the wild scene.
mechanics tinkered with the
plane, still stalling, every min
ute valuable. Spectators pushed
close.
At 1855 pm. back door
to the plane opened and the
stewardesses. Misses Tony Bes-
sett and Miss Lois Carnagy,
alighted. Robert Six, Conti-
mental president, embraced
them joyfully.
Offers to Negotiate
Minutes later, the other four
crewmen alighted as FBI Agent
in-Charge Francis Crosby went
abord to negotiate with the
gun-wielding Beardens.
The hijackerS allowed Mr..
Crosby to board the plane after
he contacted them by radio
and offered to negotiate.
On the plane now were Mr..
Crosby, the Beardens, Mr.. Gill
man and the other three pas
senger hostages, Pfc. Truman
H. Cleveland of st. Augustine,
Fla; Jack Casey, Continental
employe from Houston, and Luis
L. Erives of Los Angles.
AS the negotiations pro-
gressed, Mr.. Gilman and Mr..
Crosby, by their facial express
sions made their plans known
to one another. Suddenly,
Bearden dropped his eyes. Mr..
Gilman slugged hinl-a vicious
knockout blow.
At the same instant, Mr..
Crosby overpowered the young
Bearden.
At 1:48 pm, the hostages
stepped from the plane.
Plead Not Guilty
At their arraignment before
United States Commissioner
Henry Clifton yesterday after
noon, the Beardens entered a
plea of not guilty. They were
charged with transportation CT
a stolen plane and kidnapping.
It'd like to plead not guilty,
currently" the elder Bearden
said, and his son nodded affir-
matively when the commission
er asked if that went for him,
too.
FBI Director Hoover said
Bearden's police record dates
to August, 1941, and includes
arrests and convictions for
grand theft, forgery and first
degree robbery. He was on pa
role for a five-year to life
sentence for first degree rob-
berry.
Mr.. Hoover said Bearden was
last known to have been en-
ployed at a used car lot in
Coolidge, Ariz.
In Coolidge, Bearden's 36-
year-old wife, Mary. expressed
puZzlement over her husbands