The Ghost of Windom Ranch
A lonely rancher’s remains are discovered months after he vanished from his homestead.
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.
Last December Mike Haas, who lived alone on a ranch in the eastern part of the county near the Windom post office, disappeared. He had no relatives in the country, and no particular search was made for him. His neighbors supposed he had gone to some of the logging camps and found work. Last week, the remains of a man were discovered in the Cowlitz River near Kelso. Drift Urquhart, of this county, was notified and he went down to investigate. Postmaster Workman, of Windom, was taken to Castle Rock, and though the body was decomposed beyond recognition, some trinkets found with the body, the clothing, shoes and other things were positively identified as those of Haas. It is believed that drowning was accidental.
“Though the body was decomposed beyond recognition, some trinkets found with the body, the clothing, shoes and other things were positively identified as those of Haas.”
The disappearance of isolated, elderly, or unconnected residents remains a significant civic challenge in the rural Pacific Northwest. This tragic 1903 account captures the precariousness of life on the fringe, where a man could vanish for months before anyone realized he was gone.
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