A Pennsylvania Father Searches Seattle for His Missing Son
James McGill, a 22-year-old typewriter, vanished from Seattle in April. His father fears a railroad wreck—and asks police to look for a tall, dark-haired young man with a Roman nose.
Joseph McGill, of Bavington, Washington County, Pennsylvania, has written to police headquarters asking for information as to the whereabouts of his son, James McGill, who was last heard of in this city April 14 last. McGill was a typewriter, 22 years old, six feet in height, of slender build, with dark hair, large eyes, Roman nose and smooth face. His father thinks he may have been killed in a railroad wreck. McGill had been in this city about two years. Information regarding him should be given to Detective Wells at police headquarters.
“His father thinks he may have been killed in a railroad wreck.”
Before national missing-person databases and social media, a family’s search often ran through a letter to the local police blotter and a paragraph in the paper. The details—occupation, height, nose, complexion—were the era’s equivalent of a poster, and the unresolved ending is a reminder of how many such cases simply faded from print.
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