The Odyssey of Two Stolen Bays
A pair of horses stolen in Klickitat County resurface in Seattle, changing hands multiple times before their original owner comes to collect.
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.
The handsome span of bays purchased by D. Stinson in Seattle several months ago, and afterward sold to Chas. Taylor, have turned out to be two of the band of six stolen last June at Alder Creek, Klickitat county. The two thieves, it will be remembered, were arrested at Utsalady some six weeks or two months ago, and lodged in jail at Seattle. H. E. Adams, from whom they were stolen, heard of their whereabouts and came down last week in search of them. How Mr. Adams is to be recompensed for his loss we are unable to say, as the horses have had several different owners since being stolen from him.
“How Mr. Adams is to be recompensed for his loss we are unable to say, as the horses have had several different owners since being stolen from him.”
Property theft remains a core issue in Seattle, though the 'chain of custody' problems have evolved from stolen horses to stolen catalytic converters and vehicles. The legal headaches of an owner tracking stolen goods through several unsuspecting buyers feel hauntingly familiar to any modern victim of serial theft.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.