1926-11-16-sp-p1-fugitive-known-to-be-desperate
November 26, 1926 Spokane Press Page 1:
REARDAN MAN HUNT MAY END IN FIGHT
FUGITIVE KNOWN TO BE DESPERATE MAN
Saved by Snowstorm Last Night, Thought to Be Hiding in Straw Stack
Expecting to shoot it out with "Blackie," Reardan bank robber, who escaped in a snowstorm last night just as a posse of deputies and farmers closed in on him after capturing his two pals with most of the $20,000 loot, Sheriff Gilpatrick of Lincoln county had scores of armed and determined men patrolling the district at daybreak.
Known to be heavily armed, and said by his two captured pals to be a thoroughly “bad” character the fugitive is expected to put up a desperate fight before capture. Deputies and volunteers will shoot to kill if their man is spotted.
MOTHER NATURE SAVED BANDIT
Luck was with "Blackie" last night, according to Sheriff Floyd Brower, who returned late from the hunt. Blinding snow which obliterated all tracks in the plowed fields and prevented the man hunters from seeing more than 20 feet ahead of them, started falling with a suddenness which looked like a supernatural demonstration.
"The devil takes care of his own, it seems," said Brower.
But mother nature, so kind to "Blackie" in his hour of need last night, evened up the score a bit. Freezing temperatures followed the storm, and it was thought impossible that the fugitive would have attempted to keep going throughout the night weakened as he was by long flight, exposure and hunger.
All roads were watched and travelers warned, so it is thought unlikely that he was able to catch a ride in a passing automobile and escape from the vicinity.
THOUGHT HIDING IN STRAW PILE
It is more probable, Sheriffs Gilpatrick and Bower believe, that he burrowed into as strawstack to keep from freezing. Consequently the hunt at daybreak today was centered on straw stacks, barns and abandoned shacks.
Police in Spokane are watching "skid row" along Trent avenue, in case "Blackie" did manage to reach Spokane during the night.
The two men captured yesterday gave the names Bob Williams and James Kelly. They had most of the loot with them, having divided it before they separated after leaving the Farmers’ State bank vault.
They were captured about two hours apart. Both were on foot, having been unable to steal an automobile, as planned.
Sheriff Floyd Brower of Spokane, with local deputies, again returned to the district to aid in the search for "Blackie" Tuesday.
The three robbers hatched the plot for the stickup in a Spokane poolroom Sunday. They walked to Reardan Sunday night and hid in the rear of the bank to wait for the bank officials Monday.
Williams and Kelly will plead guilty to bank robbery, they said,
Sheriff Gilpatrick of Lincoln county was lauded for his splendid work in capturing the bandit pair.
