Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1909 — AUTOMOBILE MYSTERY AT WATER VALLEY ON KANKAKEE [ARTICLE]

AUTOMOBILE MYSTERY AT WATER VALLEY ON KANKAKEE

Wheels Fished Out of the River, and Reported That' Woman’s Hat and Gloves Also Found. — 1 The people of Water Valley on the Kankakee river, near Shelby, are very much puzzled over an automobile mystery which may Involve the wrecking of an automobile and the drowning of its occupants., Sunday morning Joe Earnest, a Monon conductor, was fishing in the river when he noticed a new automobile wheel tire inflated floating down the river. He managed to fish it out and discovered that the wheel had been broken off from the t axle by great violence. The discovery was thought to be a strange one and there was considerable talk about it. Monday morning Ben Fogli, the keeper of the Water Valley hotel, discovered another automobile wheel with all of the spokes knocked out along the river bank in a clump of bushes. . There was” another report that a pair of .automobile “gloves and a woman’s hat had been discovered in the river, but this report could not be confirmed. The people of Water Valley are very much interested ip these discoveries, and an effort will be made to locate the missing automobile and the possible victims who went down with it. In view of the fact there is not another wagon bridge up-stream for several miles, it is presumed that the accident must have occurred near Water Valley unless some one was so foolish as to cross the river in an automobile on one of the railroad bridges. At a point near the Water Valley wagon bridge the road approaches the river at right angles until it reaches a point near the river and then it turns sharply to the left and runs along the river to another turn, where it runs onto the bridge. It has been suggested that the automobile could have been running at a high rate of speed and jumped into the river before the driver could see the turn. There are, however, no marks to indicate that such an accident happened 'at that point. , This is what makes the discovery of the two broken automobile wheels such a mystery. The people of Water Valley are expected to make some sounding to see if the wreck of the automobile can be located. In the meantime news of an accident in some other part of the country upstream is being awaited with interest. City Water and Light Superintendent Chamberlain received a letter this morning from Max J. Ahlgrim, a well known resident of the river section at Water Valley, relating that the two automobile wheels and a gasoline tank bad been found, but he did not say anything about the gloves or hat and it is probable that that part of the story originated in the mind of some Hammond newspaper reporter. Mr- Ahlgrim says that all of the spokes had been chopped out of one of the wheelß with an axe and Max is of the opinion that some vandal ban stolen the machine and destroyed it. He says that it seems to have been hauled to the river and dumped off the north end of the wagon bridge. Both of the tires were still inflated. He says that it seems to have been a big new machine.