Mystery at the Admiralty Lighthouse
A teenage lighthouse keeper vanishes under suspicious circumstances after a mysterious robbery on the shores of Island County.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Port Townsend, Oct 12—The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Harry E. Evans and the robbery of the Admiralty lighthouse is more puzzling than ever. The boy, about 16, was left in charge of the station while his parents visited Port Townsend. Upon their return, they found the lighthouse lamp still burning, but the boy gone. Evidence suggests a struggle; two empty coffee cups sat on the table, and clothes and jewelry were missing. A boat was launched, and a tool chest was moved. The general theory advanced is that opium or Chinese smugglers called at the station for food, found the boy alone, robbed the premises, and to prevent detection, drowned him in the bay. Searching parties are currently scouring the shores of Whidbey Island.
“The locality is very lonesome, and just below is a small uncanny harbor, a favorite rendezvous for smugglers and fishing crafts.”
The isolation of Washington's coastal outposts often made them flashpoints for illicit trade, a dynamic that persists in regional folklore regarding smugglers along the Puget Sound.
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