A Lone Rancher Found Murdered Near Puyallup
The body of Frank Mozen was discovered near his cabin with four bullet wounds, suggesting a targeted robbery.
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.
County Coroner G. D. Shaver and deputies from the sheriff's office are today making a strenuous effort to discover some clue to the identity of the murderer of Frank Mozen, a rancher, whose body, with four bullet holes in it, was found early yesterday morning in the brush within 300 feet of his cabin at Summit, a station on the old Puyallup line. From the appearance of the body when it was found by R. W. Cody, H. T. Denham and W. H. Eaton, who were hunting varmints with dogs, Mozen was murdered in cold blood. Robbery is believed to have been the motive for the crime, as the dead man's pockets had been rifled, and the contents of his wallet, secreted in the kitchen, had been taken. Mozen was a Russian Pole, living in his hut all alone. He had not been seen for more than a week prior to the finding of the body yesterday. U. G. Burke, a neighboring rancher, claims that he heard four shots fired in rapid succession, not more than four days ago. The body had been lying on the ground less than a week, judging from its appearance. Part of the head had been gnawed by some carnivorous animal.
“The body had been lying on the ground less than a week, judging from its appearance. Part of the head had been gnawed by some carnivorous animal.”
Murders of isolated rural residents in the early 20th century often went cold due to the difficulty of forensic investigation in the brush. Today, while 'Summit' has been absorbed into the suburban growth of the Puyallup Valley, the anxiety regarding the safety of vulnerable neighbors remains a persistent, tragic thread in local news.
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