MRS. WALLACE FOUND AT HOME OF SISTER
Syracuse Woman, Whose Death Notice Had Been Twice Published, Discovered Seriously Ill After Search by Deputy Sheriff of Oneida County.
(Previously, Death Notice In Handwriting Of ‘Deceased’ Woman Following Her Disappearance, Mystifies Police )
(By Staff Correspondent.)
Camden, March 1. — Mrs. Mabel Wallace of No. 128 Fag avenue, Syracuse, a notice of whose death was sent to two Syracuse newspapers on February 26th and 27th, was discovered on Friday evening by Deputy Sheriff E. E. Paddock of Oneida county seriously ill at the home o her sister, Mrs. Horace MacDaniels of Camden.
The notice read as follows:
“Wallace — In Camden, Sunday February 13th, 1919, Mabel M. Wallace.”
When Deputy Sheriff Paddock called at the home of Mrs. MacDaniels on Friday the latter declined to state where her sister was. She declared that it was no one’s business.
Leave to Get Court Order.
“Perhaps a court order which I will bring to-morrow morning will make you more talkative,” said the sheriff, and left the house. He had not yet reached his own door when Mrs. MacDaniels’s young son came rushing after him.
“My mother wants you to come back the house right away, said the boy.
“There’s no use in my going back there and wasting any more time,” said the sheriff.
“Mother says may be it might be worth your while to come. She might have something to tell you,” answered the boy, and Mr. Paddock returned with him, and followed the messenger into the MacDaniels living room where Mrs. MacDaniels and her husband sat.
Woman Sought is Ill.
“Just a moment, ” said Mrs. MacDaniels, and left the room. In a few moments she returned, half leading, half carrying a woman clad in a nightrobe, her hair streaming down her back. She swayed to and fro and was unable to stand on her feet without help. She looked terribly ill.
“Here’s the woman you’re looking for,” said Mrs. MacDaniels. “Here’s Mrs. Wallace.”
The sheriff spoke to Mrs. Wallace who demanded in a weak voice what interest her whereabouts were to the police or to anyone else.
“It’s because you put a notice of your own death in the papers,” said the deputy.
“That notice didn’t say anything about Syracuse, said Mrs. Wallace. “It didn’t say Camden, New York. It might have referred to another person entirely. There are other Mabel Wallaces.”
Asks Penalty For Crime.
She was silent for a moment. Then she asked:
“What will they do to the person who put that notice in the papers?”
“It’s a State prison offense,” said Mr. Paddock. The woman bent her head and seemed unable to speak. The she said,
“Just as soon as I am well enough I’ll consult an attorney and then I’ll go to Syracuse and straighten matters out.”
In the opinion of the sheriff Mrs. Wallace is seriously ill. It is the general belief among her friends here that she inserted the death notice in the hope that it would meet the eye of her husband who left his home in Syracuse early in January and whose whereabouts have been a subject of speculation to acquaintances of the family.
Source : The Syracuse Herald, Saturday Evening, March 1, 1919
(The Story Concludes : Death Notice Not Inserted By Her, She Tells Herald)