Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-03-15 | Page 26 | Abduction Story is Confirmed in Part

PRIVATE R. W. WOOD, G company. Twentieth infantry, who says he was kidnaped and drugged by Germans seeking information j about prison camp. I ' ...-; ,--t.- - , ; ; 7 f -Mr x , iJUHl STORY IS ji COKFIRMED 1 PIT' Private Wood, Closely Questioned, Impresses Of. ' ficers by Frankness. . WARNING NOTE FOUND I Concealed in Glove, Missive . Tells of Danger; Is Turned Over to" Agents. Kvideiue to substantiate the story of Private K. YV. Wood, Ci company, 'Itvon. tieth infantry, of having been kidii:itc, by two Germans last Saturday nCter-uoon nCter-uoon and drugged and threatened with bodily harm unless he furnished iiem with important information re.lathc In W (lie war prison camp at Fort Douy, f. developed yesterday. V,1! This evidence was in the form of a glove belonging to "Woocf, containing a 1) note stating his plight and appealing for aid quickly. The glove containing !j the note was found in a road southeast j of the city .Monday morning by a p0- !, destrian and turned over to the federal authorities at once. Not; knowing of I the disappearance of Wood, the federal officers gave no special attention to the ,r note until they saw (he exclusive slorv ;i of Wood's experiences in The Tribune ' yesterday morning. f Leon 'Hone, special investigator for th,e department, of justice, to whom tint I glovo and note were given, took thcni ' to the fort yesterday morning, an. I, in ' tho presence of Colonel Alfred lias-brouck, lias-brouck, post commander, and Colonel George L. Hyrani, prison camp com- ; mandant, held a conference with Privaie Wood. "As a result of this confcren.p, ., Mr. Bone began a special investigation '' of the affair at once. !. The note which was in tho glovo was ,Ii to this effect: The Warning Note. ': Am held prisoner by two men who threaten bodily harm if 1 don't give information about prison camp. X'n-less X'n-less 1 am rescued quick Iv they may carry out threats against me nnj !, others, too. i The note was signed "Wood, G company." com-pany." Exact details relative to the finding of the glovo and note have not been given out by the federal authorities, authori-ties, but it is said that a pedestrian saw the glove lying in the road, aii'l, picking it up, discovered the nutc in side. When he saw the nature of the note he took it immediately to tlvjt'j-oral tlvjt'j-oral building and turned it over to . shal Auuila Xebeker. Mr. Nebeker ini-i mediately turned it over to Mr. BoneJ At that time, however, they knew nullj ,-ing ,-ing of the disappearance of Priva-1;' Wood, and these officers did not 1. .l of his absence from the post, they Mate, until they saw the story of his affair in the morning paper yesterday. The post officers reported the matter to the secret service department. Wood says he scribbled the note while he was being held a prisoner in the old barn Sunday, taking opportunities offered of-fered when his captors did not have their eyes upon him. J Dropped Note on Road. ' According to the story of the soldier, I the captors took him out in their ma- , chine Sunday night, wdiile they were ! threatening and trying to bribe him into ' giving the information they desired rcla ! tive to the guarding of the prison tamp. 'J He says that he had tucked the note in a glove, and, watching an opportunity, J he dropped the glovo out of the ma- j chine into the road, hoping that some- one wrould find it and that it would lead i to his rescue. Wood says he feared the i men would carry out their threats to 'lo him bodily harm, and that they also threatened to do harm to others at the post unless he gave the information desired. de-sired. , Wood declares his belief that they would have carried out their threats had ho not convinced tho men finally that he did not possess the information which they were seeking. j Yesterday morning the soldier was closely cross-questioned by Colonel Alfred Al-fred Hasbrouck, post commander, V)lo- '. nel George L. Byram, commander or the war prison camp, and Leon Bone, spo- cial investigator for tho department of j justice. j Wood told a straight story, and im- . pressed the officers with his frankness and honesty. Efforts to shake hira in the details of his story failed. ' The young soldier was able to be i. and around his company quarters jf- . terday, though he is still under tinware , and observation of the army physicians. ' '!