Stories of 5 Bodies Found in Wells

I recently watched a Netflix show where a body had been discovered in a well and remembered that I had written about this topic once before, but it wasn’t for StrangeAgo.

And so, with that in mind, I decided to hit up the newspaper archives once again to find some old reports about bodies found in wells.

1. Her Head was Crushed

The sheer number of bodies found in wells in the United States alone is staggering. It was a common way to dispose of babies and children, but for this article I am going to focus on the adults found inside of wells.

First, I found a report from 1907 where a woman was found in a Minneapolis well. It states:

“The body of Mrs. Catherine McCart… was found by detectives in an abandoned well on the farm of George Kadelbach [spelled differently in several newspaper articles]… The woman’s head had been crushed by a blunt instrument. The body was partly clothed. George Kadelbach, owner of the farm, is the brother-in-law of the dead woman and detectives guarded the house, while Kadelbach had barricaded himself inside. The officers made no attempt to get the man.” [Source]

Later reports reveal that the brother-in-law escaped his house and his body was later found in the woods. He took his own life, but confessed to the murder in a letter to an extended family member. [Sources 1 and 2]

2. Police Baffled

Many bodies found in wells were never identified. For instance, In 1909 is was reported out of Los Angeles that:

“The police today admit they are completely baffled regarding the identity of the body of a man found yesterday in the abandoned well on the Crinkle ranch. Investigation indicates the man has been in the well a year instead of six weeks.” [Source]

3. Murderous Sons

Of course, in cases where the bodies were identified, there was always some interesting cause of death. From 1909, South Carolina:

“The body of Mrs. Victoria Griffin, who was murdered here today, has been found in a well. The woman’s throat had been cut. Five men are under arrest, charged with the crime, three of whom are the dead woman’s sons. Her husband was murdered in Georgia several years ago by a business partner.” [Source]

4. Fell In

Having lived on an old farm, I was always careful of where I was stepping. Ground nesting bees were to be avoided at all costs, but in some places, old, uncapped wells were also a possibility.

For instance, in 1912, South Dakota:

“Clem McDaniels fell into an old well Sunday night as he was going on his way to rejoin a threshing rig on which he worked. He was not missed at home, as it was thought that he had joined his rig as usual, and at the rig it was thought he had remained at home on account of sickness. As he did not show up after a couple of days, inquiry was made when it was learned that he was missing. After a long search his body was found in the old well, having been dead several hours, although signs in the well indicated that he probably lived many hours in the chilling water before death overcame him.” [Source]

5. Threats and Bullets

But let’s get back to yet another murderous family. This one from Missouri in 1920:

“Mrs. Mary McCormick, widow of John McCormick, a farmer, whose body was found in an abandoned well…, and their 15-year-old son, Sheridan, were held in jail Saturday on indictments charging first degree murder.

“Threats are said to have been made against McCormick and on one occasion while he was working in a field a bullet passed through his hat. He attributed the shot to careless hunters. October 11 his home was burned but he continued to live in one of the farm buildings. When he failed to vote November 2, after having been missing several days, a search resulted in finding the body in the well.

“The grand jury investigated and Friday the widow and son were arrested.” [Source]