Stupid Criminals: Deep River Edition

Friday, September 27, 1901, started out like any other day for William H. Wood (grandson of John), a merchant and the postmaster of Deep River — business as usual all morning in his store; then he left to take his mid-day meal, then back to the store all afternoon. But around five o'clock, he took a good look in his cash register and got a shock. A pocketbook containing some $540 in cash and checks was missing.

William must have cast his mind over all the people he'd seen in his store that day. His suspicion quickly lighted on one: James Manley, a young fellow about 17, who'd been in and out of the store during the morning. James had been in the area doing grading work on the Grand Trunk Railroad. But when William started looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Mrs. Maud Adams of 728 West Madison Street got a delightful surprise. Her long-lost foster son showed up at her door. She hadn't seen James Manley in almost ten years. He'd turned out well, it seemed. He told her that he now "held a responsible position on the Grand Trunk railway" and was making good money. And it had to be true, since he showed her a fat roll of bills. She agreed to hold the money for him.

Back in Indiana, William's investigation turned up the news that James had left the Lottaville depot for Chicago that afternoon. Saturday morning William boarded a train to Chicago in pursuit. When he arrived at Dearborn Station, he must have felt somewhat at a loss among the anonymous crowds. He didn't know much about James, and beyond talking to the Chicago police, he hardly knew how to trace him. Nonetheless, he worked at it all of Saturday, then into Sunday morning. But by Sunday afternoon, with no news of the suspect, William figured he'd done all he could. He had to get home.

He headed back toward the Dearborn Station. Near the station he caught sight of a familiar face — the very man he'd just spent two days looking for. He pounced on James Manley and marched him to the central police station. From there the matter was in official hands, and by Monday evening James was in the Crown Point jail.

But why had James gone to the Dearborn Station? The answer is simple: curiosity. He really wanted to know whether anyone suspected him of the theft, so he'd been hanging around the station to see whether anyone he recognized from the Deep River area showed up.

William recovered most of his money.


Source: "Robbery at Deep River." Hobart Gazette (Hobart, Ind.) 4 Oct. 1901.