When the body of F.M. Southmayd was found in the government irrigation canal near Klamath Falls, Oregon, in July 1916, there were no signs of violence, no evidence of a struggle, and little to suggest suicide. Even the way he was discovered only deepened the mystery.
Southmayd was not floating. He was standing upright in five and a half feet of water, his feet on the bottom, his arms stretched forward, and the top of his head just above the surface.
Nearby, on the canal bank, searchers found only a spectacle case.
Millwright Dies in Canal Water
KLAMATH FALLS, Oregon. — Mystery surrounds the death of F,M, Southmayd, whose body was found in the government irrigation canal yesterday afternoon. There were no marks upon the body to indicate foul play, no signs of a struggle on the bank, and little to indicate suicide.
The body was discovered by Joe Burkhart, who was walking along the canal. He saw the top of the head in the water near the bridge on the old Fort Klamath Road, the body being near some timbers.
Sheriff Low was notified in the absence of Coroner Whitlock, and Dr. Hamilton was summoned, after which the body was taken from the water and removed to the morgue.
A peculiar fact is that the body was in the water in a standing position, the feet being on the bottom, the arms extended in front, and the top of the head above the surface, the water being five and a half feet deep.
There were no papers to indicate the identity of the man, and no signs to show how he met his death. His spectacle case was found on the bank of the canal.
Later the body was identified as that of Southmayd, who for the past two years has been employed as a millwright by the Pelican Bay Lumber Company. He has a wife living at Bend, and she was notified of the death.
Source: The Evening Herald. Klamath Falls, Or. July 5, 1916.
