Same Streets
← All stories

Mystery and Possible Foul Play in Oting

A reclusive elderly man has vanished from his home under suspicious circumstances involving blood and bullet holes.

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.

Deepest mystery, surrounded by a strong possibility of foul play, enshrouds the disappearance of George Gray, an aged resident of Orting, who has been missing for the past 30 days. Gray lived a short distance outside of town and was a confirmed recluse. His disappearance, however, shadowed by the evidence of a crime, has stirred up the citizens to a high pitch of excitement. Blood on the floor of his cottage, and a bullet hole through a door and the wall, together with the finding of a rifle several yards from the house, are some of the mysterious circumstances of the case. A number of officers and private citizens have made lengthy searches for the man.

“Blood on the floor of his cottage, and a bullet hole through a door and the wall... are some of the mysterious circumstances of the case.”

— Printed in The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909
Then · 1909117 years apartNow · 2026

Disappearances in rural areas near Tacoma continue to prompt intense community concern and amateur search efforts, echoing this 1915 case of an elderly man whose home became a crime scene.

The original page

The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-05-01. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

From readers

No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.

About this story

From
The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, MAY 1, 1909, Page 8
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.09788, -122.20428 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗