The Stabbed Man Who Vanished Before Trial
A snowball fight at Sixth and Jackson ended in a stabbing. Then the victim disappeared, and police began to wonder if he'd been paid to go.
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.
Antone Pontier, who is accused of stabbing Peter Rebecca on February 7, as the result of a friendly snowballing match at Sixth and Jackson streets, has been arrested and held for hearing before Justice Caldwell. The complaint was made by Officer Albert A. Osborne. As Rebecca has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, there is a suspicion in the justice's office and among the police that the stabbed man was bought off to disappear for a witness. If he has sailed, he has gone to Portland, according to County officers.
“There is a suspicion in the justice's office and among the police that the stabbed man was bought off to disappear for a witness.”
Witness intimidation and disappearing complainants remain a problem in criminal cases. This 1893 brief also shows how quickly a supposedly friendly snowball fight could turn violent in a frontier city.
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