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39 stories matching abscond
- The City Treasurer Absconds
Seattle City Treasurer Adolph Krug flees to British Columbia amid reports of a massive $30,000 deficit in the municipal treasury.
- The Snohomish Runaway
A husband’s search for his wife ends in a bitter surprise after she leaves him penniless at a hotel.
- The City Treasurer’s Emergency Salvage Plan
Following the absconding of Treasurer Krug, the city rushes to secure the public treasury and prevent a collapse of municipal funds.
- The Runaway and the Judge's Mercy
After a judge shows leniency to a young bicycle thief, the boy absconds with his brother-in-law's money.
- The Constitutional Right to Not Be Imprisoned for Debt
When local merchants tried to jail a man for unpaid loans to prevent him from leaving town, a Seattle judge put the state’s progressive constitution to the test.
- The Anonymous Libel: A Letter from Chicago Targets Seattle's Legal Elite
An anonymous circular alleging that prominent lawyer J.C. Haines absconded with estate funds in Chicago is circulating through Washington Territory, sparking a fierce defense of his character by local allies.
- Colfax Bank Cashier Vanishes with $11,000
A small-town banker has absconded, leaving his depositors with a massive, unexplained hole in the books.
- The Contractor Who Left a Trail of Debt
After securing $1,500 in contract payments, a local builder vanished in a rowboat, leaving his creditors behind in the dust.
- Kennewick Citizens Nab Depot Burglar
A quick-thinking group of Kennewick locals catches a safe-cracker in the act at the old passenger depot.
- The Ex-Mayor’s Long Road Back to the Courthouse
After three years on the run, former Seattle Mayor Thomas J. Burke has finally been apprehended in Port Townsend.
- The Buckley Bank Scam
A town in shock as two men posing as bankers abscond with the life savings of farmers and laborers.
- The Bigamist of the Boise Mines
A woman leaves her second husband to run away with her first when he returns from the mines with a pocket full of gold.
- Labor Leader Absconds with Relief Funds
The president of the Western Central Labor Union has vanished, leaving local workers to grapple with the betrayal of their relief and holiday coffers.
- Divorced Women Expose Husbands' Cruelty and Gambling
A Seattle judge grants three separations after testimonies of physical abuse, betrayal, and abandonment.
- The Professor’s High-Rolling Farewell
A lodge trustee embezzles thousands and leaves the local treasury empty for a life of excess on Washington Street.
- The Vanishing Manager: A Theater Troupe Left High and Dry in Victoria
George Rogers, manager of Seattle’s Vanity Troupe, absconded to San Francisco after promising to meet his actors in Port Townsend, leaving creditors to seize the company's furniture.
- The O'Brien Merchant Who Chased Down a Debt
A local merchant hunts down a customer attempting to flee to Nebraska to avoid paying his debts.
- The Strange Disappearance of the Tolt Lodge Treasurer
After vanishing for months with the Good Templars' insurance money, Jack Balsha is found dying in a British Columbia camp, clearing up a grim local mystery.
- The Fall of the City Treasurer
Adolph Krug, Seattle’s defaulting city treasurer, returns to the city in custody after a failed flight to the East.
- The Man Who Vanished: A Railroad Agent’s Embezzlement and Flight
Charles Dickson, former freight agent for the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company in Tacoma, absconded with company funds after gambling them away in local saloons, leaving a massive debt and a warrant for his arrest.
- Theft Allegations and Anti-Asian Tropes
A railroad worker is accused of absconding with company funds in a case reflecting the xenophobic framing of the era.
- The Great Snohomish Desertion: A Husband Left Penniless by His Wife’s Flight
In a scandal that gripped the small river town in early 1877, a man returned from a logging trip to find his wife had vanished with their cash, leaving him stranded and destitute.
- The Snohomish Lawyer’s Swindle
A lawyer absconds after forging his client's signature, triggering a bizarre legal fight over debt and stolen notes.
- The Unraveling of J. B. Maling
A prominent local real estate dealer and former mayor finds himself on the run after allegedly bouncing checks and absconding with Fourth of July funds.
- The Case of the Empty Bond: A Cautionary Tale of Corruption in Walla Walla
When an elected official absconded with nearly $20,000 in public funds, the court had to decide if his sureties were still on the hook—even though they had signed a blank piece of paper.