Search Ends for Drowned Boy
A tragic river accident in Richland leaves a community in mourning as the search for thirteen-year-old Eddie Hellinger comes to a sorrowful close.
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 body of Eddie Hellinger, the 13-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Hellinger, who was drowned in the Yakima river last Wednesday afternoon, was found by searching parties Friday. The body was taken to Garfield, the former home of the Hellinger family, Saturday evening, a large delegation of Odd Fellows from Richland acting as an honorary escort to the train. This is one of the saddest incidents in the history of the Richland district, coming as a shock to the entire community, where the little boy was so well known and liked. The entire valley unites in expressing its heartfelt sympathy for the sorrowing family.
“This is one of the saddest incidents in the history of the Richland district.”
The Yakima River remains a vital, sometimes dangerous, landmark for the Tri-Cities. Tragedies like this reflect the permanent hazards of living alongside the river, a reality that persists in local news cycles over a century later.
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