Joyride to South Tacoma Ends in Empty Tank
A stolen North End automobile was found abandoned in South Tacoma after the joyriders ran out of gas.
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.
Thieves, believed to be boys of the North End, stole the automobile of B. E. Buckmaster, 622 North X street, from its garage last evening. They drove the machine as far as South Tacoma, where it was abandoned because the gasoline had been exhausted. The car was found about midnight by South Tacoma officers and returned to its owner. There is no clue to the culprits.
“It was found about midnight by South Tacoma officers and returned to its owner. There is no clue to the culprits.”
Auto theft remains a persistent urban frustration, though today's thieves are significantly less likely to abandon their prize simply due to a dry tank. The report highlights how Tacoma's geography—the distance from the North End to South Tacoma—defined the limitations of early motoring.
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