The Grays Harbor Anchor Murders
A union agent is arrested after a sailor's body is pulled from the water, weighted down by an anchor, sparking fears of a serial killer operating in the harbor.
ABERDEEN, Wash., Feb 6 — With the arrest here of William Gohl, agent for the Sailors' Union, on a charge of murder, the police believe they have found evidence of a series of gruesome crimes. Gohl is accused of killing Charles Hatberg, a sailor and former caretaker for Gohl. Hatberg's body, with a 50-pound anchor tied to it and two jagged bullet holes in the head, was dragged from the waters of Grays Harbor, at the mouth of Indian Creek. Chief of Police George Dean stated that boasting remarks by Gohl led to his immediate arrest. During the past five years, more than 40 bodies have been recovered from the waters of the harbor; many bore evidence of death by violence, but authorities previously lacked sufficient evidence to make criminal charges. It is the Gunness story over again, with the exception that the water and not the earth has been used for graves.
“It is the Gunness story over again with the exception that the water and not the earth has been used for graves.”
The arrest of William Gohl remains one of the most infamous chapters in Pacific Northwest labor history. While the paper frames it as a 'mystery' and 'scandal,' the case highlights the brutal, often lawless nature of waterfront power struggles in the early 20th century.
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