The unknown girl
Copyright – Derek Spence 2021
The following narrative was taken directly from articles in The San Antonio Express News, The Fredericksburg Radio Post, and the Dallas Morning news. (I’ve abridged the originals)
Part 1: The Discovery
Tuesday morning September 20, 1927, Chester Schuch, 16 years of age, headed southeast toward Fredericksburg from Cherry Mountain with a Herd of sheep to sell in town.
About 10 Miles outside of Fredericksburg on property belonging to Henry Jost, he noticed a strong odor coming from a dense oak thicket. Upon investigation he discovered the foul stench was coming from a freshly dug mound of dirt that looked like a shallow grave.
That night at the supper table Chester told his father Albert of his discovery. Initially, His father dismissed the boys’ account of it, but the next morning set out to see for himself along with a friend and neighbor, Willie Scott.
The two men arrived at the location and immediately went to work digging around in the fresh pile of dirt. Instantly they noticed bare skin. Then, a pair of legs under only about 3 inches of dirt. The body of the red-headed, blue eyed, adolescent girl was grotesquely positioned in a 2- foot long grave, 15 inches deep, the killer having to literally stuff the body into the tiny pit.
Sheriff Klaerner and County attorney William Petcsh, District attorney Feilding Hammond, along with undertakers Joseph and Arthur Schaetter we’re on the scene quickly and confirmed that the body was that of a young girl, approximately 4ft 10 inches tall with red hair and blue eyes. The body was nude except for a 10kt gold ring that was on her right pinky finger. A short distance from the body was found 2 charred size 3 ladies dress shoes and a campfire where, it appeared the girls’ clothes had been burned. A white lady’s handkerchief was also found near the body along with a Houston bank deposit slip. Dr. Victor Keidel confirmed the victim’s death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head and her body was bruised in various parts. It was also obvious she had been “criminally” assaulted. When discovered, her body had been buried from 8-10 days.
The unidentified body was taken to the Schaetter Brothers funeral home (located where the Elk Store distillery resides today) and word spread fast of the grim discovery throughout Texas and beyond. In a few hours, Sheriff Klaerner, who firmly believed the girl was from either Austin, or Houston, would be bombarded with phone calls and late-night visitors from families who had missing daughters all over the state, but to no immediate avail. Families from San Antonio, McCullough County, Coleman County all breathed a sigh of relief the evening of the 21st, having been satisfied upon viewing the body, that it was not their own missing loved one.
Word also got out around town of two men seen riding around in a small coupe with a younger red-headed girl about 10 days past. One of the men was said to have escorted the girl to a local barber shop.
On the evening of the 21st, a marksmanship scorecard belonging to a soldier from Fort Sam Houston was found within 75 feet of the makeshift grave. The soldiers’ name, division, and company were listed on the scorecard.
Part 2:” The Ft Sam Houston Connection”
Fredericksburg, Tx September 22, 1927.
By Wednesday morning the 22nd, possible tips and clues as to the identity of the victim and murderer(s) we’re pouring into Sheriff Klaerner’s office. By 7:00 AM, Sgt. Maloukis of the Military Police stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, had arrested the soldier whose name was on the marksmanship record found at the scene of the crime, as well as two other soldiers. One of which had the only automobile in the entire company, the other having lived, at some point, within close proximity to the area in which the victim’s body had been discovered.
Marvin Schultz, who owned a “tourist camp” on the old San Antonio highway (the ruins of which are still there) told law enforcement that he had rented a room to two men, (one of which was a soldier), and a redheaded girl about a week ago. The cabin rented was small and the girl was given a separate cot to sleep on. The next day, according to Schultz, when he went to clean the cabin, blood was found to have saturated the cot on which the girl had been sleeping. In addition, a blood-soaked blanket and blood spatters on the wall were discovered. Schultz felt quite sure that he could identify the men if they were brought before him. With that said, Sergeant Maloukis at Ft Sam made arrangements to have the three arrested soldiers transported to Fredericksburg by noon that same day.
At the same time, Sheriff Klaerner, being bombarded with phone calls and telegrams from out of state, was searching his office for a lady’s purse that he had been given by a destitute, one-legged stranger the week before. Kerrville police, within six hours of the girl’s body being discovered on the 20th, arrested a one-legged man that had set his own car ablaze on the side of the road between Fredericksburg and Kerrville. Law-enforcement in Kerrville stated the man was a raving lunatic when arrested and was being held in the county jail under mental health observation. Inside the scorched vehicle with Oklahoma plates, were the charred remains of one, possibly black, lady’s slipper.
Was it coincidence that a one-legged stranger had appeared in Sheriff Klaener’s office the week previous? A middle-aged man in ragtag clothing, having shown up in need of money in order to get something to eat. Sheriff Klaerner, being a kind man, had given the stranger two dollars and sent him on his way. Before leaving, and while Sheriff Klaerner was on the phone, the stranger deposited a black, leather ladies’ purse on his desk. By the time the sheriff was able to look inside the purse, the better part of an hour had passed since the stranger had set out. Inside was found a photo of two teenage girls and several crudely cut newspaper clippings of missing and abducted girls from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Dallas, Tx. This struck Klaerner as quite odd, but not having any idea of the incidents of the week to come, the purse and its contents were misplaced.
By 10:00 AM on the 22nd, the already legendary Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer (of soon to be Bonnie and Clyde fame) had arrived from Austin and was sitting across the desk from Sheriff Klaerner. Hamer informed the Sheriff that he was taking the lead on the investigation and needed to be taken to the scene of the crime immediately as he had already visited the undertakers’ office and examined the victims’ body. As Hamer and Klaerner were preparing to leave the office. A local youth by the name of Emil Stein entered. He told both Lawmen that he had been given a ride in a small coupe the week before by 2 men and a redheaded girl that matched the description of the victim’s body. Stein stated the girl admitted to being a runaway from Oklahoma, was 14 years old, was tired of “life on the road” and was ready to go back home.
By the time the boys’ report had been written down, Sgt. Maloukis of the military police had arrived at the Sheriff’s office with the three soldiers he had placed under arrest that morning. It was decided among the officers that it might be best to take them to the scene of the crime and observe their reactions. With that, Klaener, Hamer, Maloukis, the arrested soldiers, and a couple of press members headed to the scene.
Fredericksburg, Tx September 22, 1927.
By Wednesday morning the 22nd, possible tips and clues as to the identity of the victim and murderer(s) we’re pouring into Sheriff Klaerner’s office. By 7:00 AM, Sgt. Maloukis of the Military Police stationed at Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, had arrested the soldier whose name was on the marksmanship record found at the scene of the crime, as well as two other soldiers. One of which had the only automobile in the entire company, the other having lived, at some point, within close proximity to the area in which the victim’s body had been discovered.
Marvin Schultz, who owned a “tourist camp” on the old San Antonio highway (the ruins of which are still there) told law enforcement that he had rented a room to two men, (one of which was a soldier), and a redheaded girl about a week ago. The cabin rented was small and the girl was given a separate cot to sleep on. The next day, according to Schultz, when he went to clean the cabin, blood was found to have saturated the cot on which the girl had been sleeping. In addition, a blood-soaked blanket and blood spatters on the wall were discovered. Schultz felt quite sure that he could identify the men if they were brought before him. With that said, Sergeant Maloukis at Ft Sam made arrangements to have the three arrested soldiers transported to Fredericksburg by noon that same day.
At the same time, Sheriff Klaerner, being bombarded with phone calls and telegrams from out of state, was searching his office for a lady’s purse that he had been given by a destitute, one-legged stranger the week before. Kerrville police, within six hours of the girl’s body being discovered on the 20th, arrested a one-legged man that had set his own car ablaze on the side of the road between Fredericksburg and Kerrville. Law-enforcement in Kerrville stated the man was a raving lunatic when arrested and was being held in the county jail under mental health observation. Inside the scorched vehicle with Oklahoma plates, were the charred remains of one, possibly black, lady’s slipper.
Was it coincidence that a one-legged stranger had appeared in Sheriff Klaener’s office the week previous? A middle-aged man in ragtag clothing, having shown up in need of money in order to get something to eat. Sheriff Klaerner, being a kind man, had given the stranger two dollars and sent him on his way. Before leaving, and while Sheriff Klaerner was on the phone, the stranger deposited a black, leather ladies’ purse on his desk. By the time the sheriff was able to look inside the purse, the better part of an hour had passed since the stranger had set out. Inside was found a photo of two teenage girls and several crudely cut newspaper clippings of missing and abducted girls from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Dallas, Tx. This struck Klaerner as quite odd, but not having any idea of the incidents of the week to come, the purse and its contents were misplaced.
By 10:00 AM on the 22nd, the already legendary Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer (of soon to be Bonnie and Clyde fame) had arrived from Austin and was sitting across the desk from Sheriff Klaerner. Hamer informed the Sheriff that he was taking the lead on the investigation and needed to be taken to the scene of the crime immediately as he had already visited the undertakers’ office and examined the victims’ body. As Hamer and Klaerner were preparing to leave the office. A local youth by the name of Emil Stein entered. He told both Lawmen that he had been given a ride in a small coupe the week before by 2 men and a redheaded girl that matched the description of the victim’s body. Stein stated the girl admitted to being a runaway from Oklahoma, was 14 years old, was tired of “life on the road” and was ready to go back home.
By the time the boys’ report had been written down, Sgt. Maloukis of the military police had arrived at the Sheriff’s office with the three soldiers he had placed under arrest that morning. It was decided among the officers that it might be best to take them to the scene of the crime and observe their reactions. With that, Klaener, Hamer, Maloukis, the arrested soldiers, and a couple of press members headed to the scene.
Part 3: “A WITNESS COMES FROM LUBBOCK”
Sept 23, 1927
Capt. Frank Hamer, Sgt Maloukis, and Sheriff Alfred Klaerner let the 3 handcuffed soldiers out of the car and directed them to a clump of trees about 15 yds from the roadside. The uninhabited, makeshift grave, still being plainly visible, made no noticeable impressions on the 3 bound soldiers who seemed to stare at the sight with grim curiosity. From there, they were led back to the Mason road and a bloody quilt, wagon sheet, and oil cloth were laid before them in the middle of the road. All three of these items had been found that day on the side of the road about 2 miles toward Mason from where they currently stood. Again, much to Hamer’s dismay the 3 soldiers appeared to only show mild curiosity at the sight of these items. At that point, the marksmanship scorecard was brought out and delivered to the bound soldier whose name and company were written on it. “Yes, that is my scorecard”, said he, “but I promise I’ve not been closer to this place than Camp Stanley” (near Leon Springs). The soldier explained that on August 5th, he had been sent to the firing range at Camp Stanley where he fired 2 shots at a target 200 yds away. Both shots missed the target entirely and the Sergeant, overseeing the range, sent him to the hospital to have his eyes examined.
“I must have left the scorecard on the range that day, and someone came along and picked it up. I have no idea how it could’ve gotten here” he said.
The 3 soldiers were then loaded up and taken back to Fredericksburg to meet Marvin Schultz, who felt sure he could identify the men he had rented a cabin to, along with a young, red haired girl the week before. Emil Stein, who had taken a ride with 2 men and a red headed girl the week previous was also on hand to take a good look at the men.
Both Marvin Schultz and Emil Stein stated that one of the men “kind of looked like” one of the men from the previous week, and the other two “definitely not”.
With that, Sergeant Maloukis loaded the 3 prisoners back up and headed back to San Antonio. His taillights were still in sight when a man named W.W. Terry walked into Sheriff Klaerner’s office and relayed the following story to both he and Hamer.
“Thursday last I left San Antonio about 8 am driving to Lubbock. Along the way I was passed by a small Coupe which contained 2 soldiers and a red-headed girl. The girl was positioned between the two men and the whole way to Fredericksburg they would speed up and slow down constantly.”
Once in Fredericksburg, Terry stopped for a while, had lunch, and proceeded on his journey up the Fredericksburg/Mason Road. About 10 miles outside of Fredericksburg, he came across the same vehicle he had followed earlier. All occupants, the 2 soldiers and, noticeably small red-haired girl, were outside of the vehicle engaged in a heated argument. Terry stated that one of the soldiers was standing in the middle of the road and that he had to slow down to a near stop before the man moved out of the way and let him pass. Terry had gotten a good look at all three of them and felt sure he could identify them accordingly.
From there, the Lawmen escorted Terry to the undertaker’s office where he immediately identified the victim as the girl, he had seen the week before arguing with the 2 soldiers. After that, Terry was taken up the Mason road to the grave location. Terry was able to identify the grave as being only 100 yards from where he had seen the car, the victim, and 2 soldiers the week before. Hamer, at this point is said to have stated, “that’s good but until we nail down who this girl is, everything else is a shot in the dark.”
Her identity, to the lawmen working the case, should have been the easy part. They felt sure one of the many families who, at that very moment, were on their way to Fredericksburg to view the body, would be able to put the mystery to rest. A steady stream of people with lost daughters, wives, and sisters had been in and out of the Schaetter Undertakers office since the 21st. Yet, no one, at this point had claimed her.
The evening of the 23rd found Ranger Hamer and Sheriff Klaerner back at the Sheriff’s office. Klaerner, taking a break from phone calls, relayed the story of the one-legged man that had torched his own vehicle to Hamer. Klaerner was certain that it had to be the same one-legged man that had entered his office the week before and left the ladies purse, filled with newspaper clippings of missing girls. Hamer advised Klaerner to head to Kerrville the next day and get a good look at the man. Klaerner agreed. Hamer meanwhile stated that he would be working a different angle. If he ever mentioned what “angle” it was, it is lost to history (Hamer was always known for “keeping his cards close to the vest”).
Part 4: “We Have a Positive Identification”
Sept 24-25, 1927
Friday morning:
Sheriff Klaerner left for Kerrville early on Friday morning. He was back in Fredericksburg by 11 AM with the news that the one-legged man being held there WAS indeed the same one-legged man that had appeared in his office 12 days ago: And at the time had left a ladies wallet filled with Newspaper clippings of missing girls throughout the country. The press hopped on this announcement and once again the Sheriff’s office phone was burning up with phone calls from newspapers in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio, and even New York. Upon this announcement, headlines across the state read, “Girls’ killer potentially found” even though it was only suspicion at this point in the investigation. The flood of press phone calls was a frustrating occurrence for Klaerner because in between the news interviews, families with missing girls were attempting to call in desperately seeking information as to the description of the girls’ body.
In San Antonio, W.W. Terry, who had identified the red-headed victim as the same girl he had seen pulled over on the side of the road with 2 soldiers less than 100 yards from where her body was discovered, was having the 3 detained soldiers brought before him for identification. Marvin Schultz, who had rented a cabin in Fredericksburg to two men and a red-haired girl 10 days ago was also present for a second look at the men’s faces. Neither of the two men could identify any of the soldiers as the same men they had seen in Fredericksburg. Furthermore, upon announcing this to the press, Sgt Maloukis stated, “the soldiers’ marksmanship scorecard that was discovered at the scene was actually found 75 yards, not 75 feet from the girls’ body and could have gotten there in a hundred different ways”. With this announcement, the three soldiers were released from custody and as far as this story goes, disappear from history.
Back in Austin, like in Fredericksburg, the Texas Rangers’ office phone was blowing up with press enquiries, missing person enquiries, and potential leads. Hamer, having been working the case from a “different angle” for a couple of days now had just returned to the office in Austin from a town “other than Fredericksburg”, while working on some of his own recently discovered clues.
A phone call came in at some point Friday morning which gave Hamer a description of the victims’ body in such detail that Hamer was convinced the girls identity was a certainty. He announced this information to the press. Again, headlines across the state announced the discovery. Hamer stated publicly that the identification had been made over the phone from a “long distance phone call” which had come into his office. The family, at that moment, was making arrangements to travel the 300 miles to Fredericksburg in order to view the body in person. This was great news for the investigation. Hamer, the previous day had stated to the press that “we have been groping in the dark. We have been clutching a few clues which have been found, but we have no starting place. If we can find the identity of the dead girl, we can trace her movements and have something tangible to move forward on”. With this announcement, Texas Governor Moody posted a $500 reward for the girls’ killer.
The Owens family, from Crane, Texas had made the phone call. Their 16-year-old daughter, Billie had run away 2 months before. They arrived in Fredericksburg late Friday night and immediately set upon the undertakers’ office.
Upon viewing the body that night, Mrs. Owens stated “the size and general outline of the body resemble my daughter very closely even down to her high cheekbones and large white teeth.”
The sister was present for the identification as well, she was not as convinced as her mother however, mainly because of the red hair. Billie Owens was a blonde. This observation was discounted by the mother, believing that her daughter could have easily died her hair at some point along her voyage into South Texas.
By Saturday morning, Frank Hamer was in town and escorted Mrs. Owens and the sister back to the undertaker’s office for a second look. The mother, still being convinced it was her daughter, had Hamer cut a lock of the dead girls’ hair. This was placed in an envelope and Hamer hurried back to Austin to have it examined in the lab under a microscope. Before he left, Mrs. Owens was quoted as saying, “If the hair is dyed, I believe it is she”.
Part 4: “We Have a Positive Identification”
Sept 24-25, 1927
Friday morning:
Sheriff Klaerner left for Kerrville early on Friday morning. He was back in Fredericksburg by 11 AM with the news that the one-legged man being held there WAS indeed the same one-legged man that had appeared in his office 12 days ago: And at the time had left a ladies wallet filled with Newspaper clippings of missing girls throughout the country. The press hopped on this announcement and once again the Sheriff’s office phone was burning up with phone calls from newspapers in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio, and even New York. Upon this announcement, headlines across the state read, “Girls’ killer potentially found” even though it was only suspicion at this point in the investigation. The flood of press phone calls was a frustrating occurrence for Klaerner because in between the news interviews, families with missing girls were attempting to call in desperately seeking information as to the description of the girls’ body.
In San Antonio, W.W. Terry, who had identified the red-headed victim as the same girl he had seen pulled over on the side of the road with 2 soldiers less than 100 yards from where her body was discovered, was having the 3 detained soldiers brought before him for identification. Marvin Schultz, who had rented a cabin in Fredericksburg to two men and a red-haired girl 10 days ago was also present for a second look at the men’s faces. Neither of the two men could identify any of the soldiers as the same men they had seen in Fredericksburg. Furthermore, upon announcing this to the press, Sgt Maloukis stated, “the soldiers’ marksmanship scorecard that was discovered at the scene was actually found 75 yards, not 75 feet from the girls’ body and could have gotten there in a hundred different ways”. With this announcement, the three soldiers were released from custody and as far as this story goes, disappear from history.
Back in Austin, like in Fredericksburg, the Texas Rangers’ office phone was blowing up with press enquiries, missing person enquiries, and potential leads. Hamer, having been working the case from a “different angle” for a couple of days now had just returned to the office in Austin from a town “other than Fredericksburg”, while working on some of his own recently discovered clues.
A phone call came in at some point Friday morning which gave Hamer a description of the victims’ body in such detail that Hamer was convinced the girls identity was a certainty. He announced this information to the press. Again, headlines across the state announced the discovery. Hamer stated publicly that the identification had been made over the phone from a “long distance phone call” which had come into his office. The family, at that moment, was making arrangements to travel the 300 miles to Fredericksburg in order to view the body in person. This was great news for the investigation. Hamer, the previous day had stated to the press that “we have been groping in the dark. We have been clutching a few clues which have been found, but we have no starting place. If we can find the identity of the dead girl, we can trace her movements and have something tangible to move forward on”. With this announcement, Texas Governor Moody posted a $500 reward for the girls’ killer.
The Owens family, from Crane, Texas had made the phone call. Their 16-year-old daughter, Billie had run away 2 months before. They arrived in Fredericksburg late Friday night and immediately set upon the undertakers’ office.
Upon viewing the body that night, Mrs. Owens stated “the size and general outline of the body resemble my daughter very closely even down to her high cheekbones and large white teeth.”
The sister was present for the identification as well, she was not as convinced as her mother however, mainly because of the red hair. Billie Owens was a blonde. This observation was discounted by the mother, believing that her daughter could have easily died her hair at some point along her voyage into South Texas.
By Saturday morning, Frank Hamer was in town and escorted Mrs. Owens and the sister back to the undertaker’s office for a second look. The mother, still being convinced it was her daughter, had Hamer cut a lock of the dead girls’ hair. This was placed in an envelope and Hamer hurried back to Austin to have it examined in the lab under a microscope. Before he left, Mrs. Owens was quoted as saying, “If the hair is dyed, I believe it is she”.
Part 5: “A Phone Call from Wichita Falls”
Sept 25-27, 1927
While Captain Frank Hamer was driving back to Austin with the hair sample in tow, a Lieutenant Farish of the Military Police was inspecting the cabin at Marvin Schultz’ tourist camp south of Fredericksburg. Upon entering, Farish was shown by owner Schultz the suspected blood spatter marks on the wall, the bloody quilt, and cot upon which the young, red-headed girl had slept.
In the beginning, Schultz claimed that he could easily identify the two men he had encountered if given the opportunity. That opportunity had been presented to Schultz two times at this point in the investigation and he was unable to make any identification at all. What Lieutenant Farish encountered at the tourist camp on this particular day was what appeared to be red wax, not blood, on the wall and quilt. The cot, which Schultz claimed to be stained with blood, could have indeed been blood, but from the location of the stain on the cot itself, Farish deduced it was from a menstrual flow. Both ends of the cot where the head and feet would normally occupy were free of any blood stains at all. To be sure, Lieutenant Farish loaded the cot in his vehicle and headed back to San Antonio for further examination (in the research I have done thus far, there is no further mention of the cot in any of the newspaper articles).
Meanwhile, Sheriff Klaener, having identified the one-legged man held in custody in Kerrville as the same man that had visited his office two weeks previous, was feeling anxious about is positive identification. On the morning of the 26th, he called over to Kerrville and asked if they could transport the prisoner to Fredericksburg for identification by several other people who had seen him in town around the same time as the Sheriffs’ encounter 12 days or so before. This was arranged and by 1:00 pm on the 26th, the one-legged prisoner was locked in a cell on the first floor of the old rock jail in Fredericksburg (still exists). Several townspeople and a Sheriff’s deputy, all of whom had encountered the man, or so they thought, were escorted to the jail for identification while the press waited outside. Sheriff Klaener was the last to go in, and, after a few minutes, was the first to come back out.
What he did next stunned not only the media that was present, but the bystanders that were waiting in the street outside. The Sheriff, upon a second viewing of the man, recanted his original positive I.D., and stated that none of the other witnesses could identify him either. The prisoner was then loaded up and transported back to Kerrville and County Attorney Petsch announced to the press that “Gillespie County has nothing against this man”.
(Authors’ note: The coincidence here is astounding. Two men, both with one leg, seen in the Fredericksburg area around the same time the victims’ body had been discovered. One man, having given Sheriff Klaener a ladies billfold stuffed with newspaper clippings about missing girls, and the other having set his own car afire between Fredericksburg and Kerrville; on the same day, and shortly after the news spread of a body having been discovered. Stranger than fiction indeed)!!!
On the morning of the 27th, Mrs. Owens left the Nimitz Hotel and walked across the street to the Undertakers’ office to view the body of the girl one more time. At this point, Mrs. Owens had not slept in 3-4 days and was suffering from grief and exhaustion. She was certain the body under the blanket was that of her missing daughter Billie and had been waiting anxiously on Captain Frank Hamer to call with the results of the lab test for about 36 hours.
Just like the day before, and the one before that, the blanket was lifted, and Mrs. Owens stared down at the lifeless form before her. The high cheekbones, the delicate hands, the large white teeth, were all enough to convince her of what she knew, deep down to be true, this was, without a doubt, her missing girl. She left the Undertakers’ office feeling faint with grief.
Upon her return to the Nimitz hotel, Sheriff Klaener met her at the front desk. He had been looking for her. At his office, on the phone at that very moment, was one Billie Owens. She was safe and sound and staying with a friend in Witchita Falls. An hour later, and unaware that Mrs. Owens was on her way to Wichita Falls, Tx. Hamer called the Sheriff from Austin with the lab results: the red hair was not dyed, it was natural.
The day of the 27th was a great day for the Owens family. For Hamer and Klaener, it was both a good day and a bad day. The identity of the murdered girl was still a mystery after an “almost” positive identification, and all of their best suspects were not suspects anymore. The case, on all counts had fallen completely apart. They were back at square one.
Part 6: “Unknown”
Sept 27-30, 1927
Where did she come from? Where was she going? Who was she with? These questions could not get answered until they could find out a name for this poor girl. By the 27th, Sheriff Klaener was completely exhausted. He had not slept more than an hour per night ever since this nightmare began on the 20th. The ups, the downs, and false leads of the investigation, the press enquiries, the grieving families with missing daughters, sisters, and wives had left him on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. The frustration was overwhelming. Surely, after 7 days of press coverage someone would come forth in the next couple of days with an answer.
One local young man did come forth with a possible clue, but it wasn’t much. The young man, (who is never identified in the articles from the period) was traveling back to Fredericksburg from Corpus Christi when he came across a very young, red headed girl walking all alone down the center of the road he was traveling. He stopped the car and asked the girl if she needed a ride. She stated that she was heading to San Antonio to look for work but currently had no money and could not afford to pay for a ride. The young man told her not to worry and to hop in. She did and he drove her as far as Beeville, Tx., where she got out and continued her trek alone. This young man was taken to the funeral home to view the body and stated that it “very well could be” the same girl he had picked up. Oddly enough, even though he had ridden with the girl for almost 100 miles, the young man was not able to remember her name.
(Authors’ note: A mystery that comes to mind is why this young man, whomever he was, dropped the girl off in Beeville? San Antonio is on the way from Corpus to Fredericksburg and is not out of the way in the least. There is no explanation offered in any of the articles from the time.)
Meanwhile, The Texas Rangers, under Capt. Frank Hamer, were tracking down other leads outside of the Fredericksburg area, but never disclosed what they were publicly. Because time was of the essence, as a last-ditch effort, Hamer began sending locks of hair from the corpse to every family that had enquired about a lost loved one since the girls’ body had been found, which, by this time had slowed down considerably.
By the morning of the 28th, the enquiries had stopped altogether, and no new leads were coming in. W.W. Terry remained the only man that was certain the body in the undertakers’ office was the same girl he had seen arguing with 2 soldiers two weeks before on the side of the road between Fredericksburg and Mason. Unable to identify the 2 soldiers in a line up, W.W. Terry fades into history from this point on, though his eyewitness account remains the best, and most likely to this day.
On the 28th, County Attorney Petsch announced to the press that the girls’ body needed burial and was asking for donations to do just that. The Boy Scouts of America answered the call going door to door on the 28th and 29th and were able to raise enough money for a plot, a “fine casket”, headstone, and graveside service.
Still, they waited... as long as possible. The 28th and 29th passed without any new missing person enquiries, and no new leads.
The funeral was planned on the 29th, to be held on the morning of the 30th with pastors Aurthur Koerner from Holy Ghost Lutheran, F.W. Radetsky of the Episcopal Church, L.H. Billings of the Baptist Church, and C.F. Bohmfaulk of the Methodist church officiating. As the band played “In The Garden”, the unknown, red-headed girl, was laid to rest on September 30, 1927 in a Christian Ceremony attended by over 400 citizens and press members. She resides there today.
Part 7: “Unanswered”
The first photo is of the grove of oaks in which the victim’s body was found. Still covered with oaks... She was buried in the soft sand of the wet weather creek that flows through the grove. The highway has been widened by 30-40 feet since 1927. Somewhere near the edge of the grass median (on the property line) would be the approximate location.
Thank you for joining me on this time-traveling, Facebook adventure. Again, I just wanted to re-visit this long forgotten story in the hope of generating some interest. It is likely, with DNA, that her name could be known today…and that’s my goal. A ‘go-fund’ me page may be coming next.
There are obviously too many questions that still need answering. If you’ve kept up with this story, I’m sure you have some as well. Feel free to ask in the comments. Besides the obvious questions of who she was and who killed her, here are a few of mine.
1. When the body was dumped, were the killers headed towards Fredericksburg or Mason? The bloody quilt that the body was presumably wrapped in was found a couple of miles toward Mason from the bodies’ location.
2. If the Killer(s) were in such a hurry as to dig such a shallow grave, why would they build a campfire to burn her clothes with? Did they spend the night there? Spending the night on the side of the road was not uncommon in 1927.
3. Of whom was Texas Ranger Frank Hamer suspicious? What was his “angle” that went unreported?
4. What happened to the 10kt ring the girl was wearing?
Feel free to ask any questions. If I know the answer, I will answer them.