Hi everyone. This is Elizabeth from StrangeAgo, and today I’ve got a few doozies for you.
Before we begin, I have to admit I was planning on putting up my article on people falling off bridges, but then I read Guy’s post and decided to see, first, if I could find any stories about people tied to logs. And, oh my. I found some strange stories from the past.
1. Floating in the Arkansas River
First, I found this story from 1922. It’s a brief article, but it gave me hope that there were more stories out there. It reads:
“The body of a man tied to a log floating in the Arkansas River… Friday was identified Saturday as that of Harry Brotherson of Tulsa, who disappeared from his home… The man who identified the body expressed belief that Brotherson had committed suicide.” [Source]
2. Kentucky River
Next, I found this rather disturbing report from out of Kentucky, 1911:
“The bodies of three men, the heads of all crushed, were found today tied to a log raft floating in the Kentucky river.
“Pinned to the lapels of the men’s coats were notes reading: ‘Dead men tell no tales.’” [Source]
3. Lake Erie
Next we have a 1923 report out of Ohio about a man found lashed to a railroad tie.
“The body of a man lashed to a railroad cross-tie was found floating in Lake Erie by a fisherman late yesterday. It was clothed in full length overalls, a jumper, heavy canvas apron and working shoes.
“Police are endeavoring to determine whether the man had been murdered and then lashed to the tie, whether he had been fastened and then cast adrift to die from exposure, or if there is a possibility of the man having tied himself in an effort to save his life after being cast overboard.
“The last theory was given little credence, as the body was tied around the waist and one arm was under him.” [Source]
4. Wind River
Next, we have yet another person tied to a log and floating down the river, but this time the ghastly scene is witnessed by children playing along a Wyoming river in 1917.
“Hawkinson, who two weeks ago disappeared from the ranch where he was employed, is believed to have been murdered and his dead body tied to a log and placed adrift in Wind River.
“This theory has been brought to light in the story told by some little girls here who were playing on the bank of the Wind River when they saw the dead body of a man, lashed to a log, adrift in the river. Their description of the man conforms to that of Hawkinson.
“It has been further substantiated by two boys who saw the body in the river earlier in the day.” [Source]
5. Umatilla River
And finally, at least for today, I found this rather disturbing murder mystery out of Washington state in 1882:
“The body of a man named Charles Mulhorren was found in the Umatilla river today… It had three contusions on the head, as if done with a blunt instrument. Thirty feet of lash rope and a pack cinch were tied around his neck, and the other end tied to a log on the bank of the river…. [A woman] of steady character, who lives close by, said she heard a disturbance the night before the body was found, but knows nothing further. This is the third mysterious murder in as many months in the same section of country, and no clue has been found as to who did it.” [Source]
