Mystery Attack on Teenager Near Church
A young girl is recovering in the hospital after she was found gagged and bound near the Presbyterian church in Hanford.
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.
A telephone message from Dr. Spaulding this Friday forenoon says that Miss Zora Miller, the 16-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Miller of Hanford, who was found near the Presbyterian church there last Sunday evening in an unconscious condition with her feet tied and her mouth gagged, is slowly recovering her senses in the Pasco hospital. Dr. Spaulding expects her to fully recover within the next day or two and be able to explain the circumstances of the affair. Miss Miller was seized with a fit of coughing while attending church last Sunday evening and had stepped outside. About an hour later, two girl friends found her in the condition stated above. She was brought into the church, where she recovered consciousness, but her mind was affected to such an extent that she has been in a delirious condition ever since. A large bump on the back of her head indicated that she may have been struck a blow before being bound and gagged. Dr. W. C. Hills of White Bluffs was called, and later, Dr. Spaulding of Kennewick. Miss Miller was taken to the hospital at Pasco Monday morning. Sheriff James Shepherd and Prosecuting Attorney George O. Beardsley came over from Prosser and have been working on the case, running down every possible clue that would lead to the apprehension of the person or persons guilty of the dastardly act.
“A large bump on the back of her head indicated that she may have been struck a blow before being bound and gagged.”
This incident occurred in the original townsite of Hanford, a community that was later completely displaced by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The search for justice in a small, isolated agricultural town in 1925 echoes the ongoing challenges of policing rural areas today.
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