The Mysterious Disappearance of Arthur P. Kent
A man vanishes from his familiar haunts, leaving behind unpaid debts and a forgotten bank certificate.
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.
Arthur P. Kent has been missing from his accustomed haunts for several weeks. A year ago, Kent deposited $338 in the Bank of British Columbia, receiving a time certificate. Several weeks ago, he borrowed $30 from a man named Fisher, leaving the certificate as security. Since then, no one has seen him. Kent was about 50 years old, gray-haired, and suffered from rheumatism. He frequently visited the St. Elmo saloon, but had not been seen there for some time. Police were notified, and it is believed he may have a brother in Anacortes.
“Kent was about 50 years old, had gray hair and was troubled with rheumatism.”
Missing person reports in the 1890s often paint a vivid picture of a man's social habits and local economic precarity. The 'haunts' of the 1890s transient population—saloons and small hotels—have largely been erased by the city's rapid development.
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