Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-08-01 | Page 1 | Shirley Temple Plot Confessed

SHIRLEY SHRLEY TEMPLE PLOT CONFESSED Youth Pleads Guilty to Extortion Try NORTH PLATTE Neb Aug 1 UP JP Sterling W. W Powell year old farm boy c charged with attempting to extort from the father of Shirley Temple child actress today pleaded guilty guilLy and waived prelImInary preliminary nary hearing when he wa va arraigned before United States Commissioner A. A F F. F Streit-s Streit here I set bond for the youth at 1000 and bound him over to the federal dis district court at the next term here which starts June 8 1937 Sheriff Sheri Howard Bechtel of ot Perkins co county nty signed bond for Powell and and the tho boy left immediately for h his s home at Grant with his parents and Bechtel The bond set the ap appearance appearance ap I date dale for June 9 1937 The detective operations of federal federal fed fed- eral agents led late yesterday to the arrest of Powell at his farm home here by Sh Sheriff ri H. H Bechtel The sheriff sheri said young Powell told toM him he conceived the fantastic scheme after seeing a movie based on a theme but ne never er meant to go through with it iL Bechtel reported the prisoner readily admitted he had sent a letter to George F. F Temple father of the little actress setting forth in part Unless is dropped froman from froman an airplane near Grant Neb on May 15 the life Ute of ot Shirley Temple will wUl 1 be endangered The missive was mailed May 9 but it was not opened until May 18 three days after the specified deadline deadline in in the fan mail department department department depart depart- ment of the Twentieth I Fox Century-Fox studios in Hollywood Government nt operatives were notified notified notified no no- at once At Washington J J. J Edgar Hoover chief chiet of the justice departments department's bureau of investigation tion related relate how the square of paper was subjected to scientific tests and land traced trace through the tho manufacturer manufacturer manu manu- to stores at Grant and Madrid Neb Further undisclosed sed deductions I ltd Led d to the seizure of Powell