A Thief Pulled From the I.W.N. Train
A sleeping guest is robbed at the Newport Hotel; Marshal Bennett catches one suspect aboard an outgoing train while two alleged accomplices head toward Spirit Lake.
Marshal Bennett arrested this noon a young man charged with robbing one of the roomers at the Newport Hotel. Bennett got his man off the I. W. N. train just as it was about to pull out. Two of his pals, who were also on the train, were searched and allowed to go, but afterward a message was sent to Spirit Lake to intercept them and bring them back. They are credited with having got away with a gold watch and chain, a diamond ring and some money, entering the room this morning while the victim slept.
“Bennett got his man off the I. W. N. train just as it was about to pull out.”
A hotel-room burglary and a rush to catch a suspect before the train leaves would still read like a police blotter item today, though the getaway vehicle would more likely be a car than an interurban train. Newport’s old hotel and rail district have changed, but the small-town race to stop a thief at the depot remains familiar.
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