Looking back: Search party organized to find kids who didn’t return home, and man arrested after gun found hidden in downtown building
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of May 27 to June 2 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — A search party was organized for a group of kids who didn’t return home from exploring Wolverine Canyon, the Blackfoot Optimist reported on May 29, 1913.
Sisters Alice and Annie, along with Ella Conklin and her brother, Ray, went out to explore. Their horses “gave out,” and they were “compelled” to stay the night at a ranch.
“Not having returned home Monday morning, a search party was sent out, and the young folks were helped back to the city,” the article reads. “Miss Annie ran down a jackrabbit, which she brought to town and is exhibiting as a souvenir of the thrilling experience.”
1926-1950
IDAHO FALLS — Police recovered a stolen rifle after “suspicious actions” by two men was observed by a patrolman, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on May 27, 1936.
Patrolman Ernest Harker reported around 1 a.m. he came out of the alley south of the federal building and saw two men carrying something go in the front entrance to the Earl building. He couldn’t tell what they had.
By the time he got over there, the two men were coming out of the building, and Harker stopped them, wanting to know what they were doing there in the middle of the night.
“One of the men said they wanted to see Henry Martin, who is county attorney, and Harker told them that they knew he wouldn’t be in the building at that hour,” the article states.
The two men then went south on Park Avenue while Harker entered the building. While looking in the building’s entrance, Harker found a .22 caliber rifle under the radiator. He called another officer, who took the gun.
“Harker went back to the Earl building and waited 10 or 15 minutes when a taxi stopped in front, and a man got out and entered the building,” the Post Register said. “He got down on his hands and knees and began looking under the radiator. He had on a pair of kid gloves.”
Harker arrested the man, who claimed he was looking for a bottle of ginger ale he left there. In his pocket, Harker found part of a box of .22 caliber shells. The man said his name was William Davis, but police said he was the same man arrested earlier in the week as William Douris, who “is serving out a 60-day suspended sentence given him for reckless driving.”
The gun, along with a leather jacket, was stolen from J.G. Richard’s car Tuesday night. The car was parked on Park Avenue near the federal building. He reported the theft Wednesday morning.
1951-1975
IDAHO FALLS — Two Idaho Falls Boy Scouts found a “wildcat baby” and turned it over to the Tautphaus Park Zoo, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on May 28, 1951.
Glen Hoff, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Hoff, and Ronnie Naegle, son of Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Naegle, found the kitten on a church father-and-son outing at Fall Creek.
“On a hike up the mountain the boys found the little wildcat and brought it back to camp,” the Post Register explained. “Upon their return to Idaho Falls, they turned it over to the zoo, where I.E. Crockett, park manager, is trying to raise it.”
The boys, who visit the park frequently, said the kitten is “taking milk now from a hole in a rubber glove.”
1976-2000
POCATELLO — A Bannock County man was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after “extensive damage” was discovered in a Pocatello woman’s home, the Idaho State Journal reported on June 1, 1976.
Police apprehended Dick Merrill, 39, at the home of Francis Pond. Before the arrest was made, two television sets valued at $850 were damaged, a $200 oil sketch was ruined and various dishes, perfumes and toiletries were broken.
White paint was also thrown on the living room carpet and kitchen tile, along with a basement water pipe was broken after a washing machine was flipped over.
Damage was estimated at $2,500. It’s not clear the reason behind the “damage spree” or if the man and woman knew each other and if so, how.