The Curious Case of the Stolen Vermillion Wagon
A stolen express wagon is found abandoned, but the horse thieves remain at large.
Charles Wilson's express team, stolen from the stand at Ninth and Commerce streets Tuesday noon, was yesterday found tied to a tree near Lake View. The wagon had been repainted a vivid vermillion color. The horse thieves, who apparently left the animal tied to the tree to die, have not been apprehended. Tuesday afternoon Wilson reported that his express wagon had been stolen. At once the police and deputy sheriffs were put on the case, with the result that Sheriff Tom Morris located it.
“The horse nearly starved and the express wagon re-painted a vivid vermillion color.”
Ninth and Commerce remains a central hub in downtown Tacoma, though the era of horse-drawn express wagons has long since faded into the city's architectural history. Theft of service vehicles persists as a modern civic frustration, though contemporary police recovery methods involve far more digital tracking than the patrols of Sheriff Tom Morris.
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