Prison Break in the Tri-Cities
Two men convicted of a local bank heist vanish from custody just weeks before their retrial.
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.
John Burke and John Morrison, the oldest and youngest of the three men convicted of attempting to blow the safe in the First Bank of White Bluffs about a year ago, escaped from the jail at Pasco Tuesday afternoon and at the last reports were still at large. C. L. Porter, the other member of the trio, refused to leave the jail although it is said he had the same opportunity to escape as the others. Convicted at the trial in Prosser last July, the men were taken to Walla Walla while awaiting the outcome of their appeal to the state supreme court. A short time ago the supreme court ordered a retrial and the men were transferred to the jail at Pasco as it was considered safer than the one at Prosser. The second trial had been set for July 5th. Burke is wanted by the Federal authorities on another charge and the government is interested in his apprehension.
“C. L. Porter, the other member of the trio, refused to leave the jail altho it is said he had the same opportunity to escape as the others.”
Bank robberies in the 1920s often involved amateurish safe-blowing attempts, a stark contrast to the sophisticated digital security threats of today. The escape highlights the precarious nature of rural detention systems in the early 20th century, which often struggled to securely house high-profile defendants.
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