Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-09-30 | Page 9 | Utah Convict Climbs Wire, Flees Prison

UTAH CONVICT CLIMBS WIRE, FLEESPRISON Guard's Fire May Have Winged' Him; Reported Report-ed in Utah County Armed possemen scoured eastern and central Utah Saturday for a convict who climbed hand-overhand along high tension power lines and then dodged shotgun slugs in a daring break over the south wall of the state prison Friday night. The object of the manhunt Is Francis (Bob) Cushman, 26, who lived in Tooele 14 years but who left there about five years ago and who was serving a six-month to three-year term for third degree urglary In Salt Lake City. Provo city police and the Utah county sheriff's office surrounded an area Immediately west of Provo in belief a sedan, reported stolen late Friday night from Union, was abandoned at the tip of Utah lake early Saturday by the fugitive. Warden Owen Nebeker said Cushman, who entered the prison June 9 of this year, probably was wounded by Guard Abraham Evans, Ev-ans, on duty In the southwest prison tower when the convict made his desperate break shortly before 7 p. m. Friday. Evans, veteran guard, said he saw Cushman after the convict climbed a cellhouse and traveled hand-over-hand along the high-tension high-tension power lines of the prison. Had the fleeing convict made "contact," "con-tact," the warden said, he probably prob-ably would have been electrocuted. electro-cuted. The convict apparently started his break by climbing to the -roof of a cellhouse, then traveled handover-hand for 35 or 40 feet to the wall. ' Guard Fired The guard said the fugitive Ignored Ig-nored his command to halt and Instead dropped to the ground outside out-side the wall, where Evans fired at him with a shotgun. "The slugs peppered the ground all around him," the guard reported, report-ed, "and he somersaulted. 1 think he was wounded, but he regained his feet and ran south through the gulleys and thick brush." A search failed to disclose traces of blood on the ground, but Warden War-den Nebeker said the condition of the soil and brush was such that, unless bleeding was profuse, It would be extremely difficult to discern. The stolen sedan was taken from in front of the home of Mrs. Eva Olson at Union between 9 p. m. and midnight, according to Salt Lake county sheriffs office reports re-ports and the warden. Car Abandoned The ear was abandoned about a half mile west of Provo shortly after 2 a. m., according to the warden's war-den's report from Utah county officials, who were checking the Interior for fingerprints and blood spots. Warden Nebeker said Cushman was not a "trusty" because of a retainer placed on him by Texas authorities. He was to be taken to Texas on a felony warrant charging forgery after his Utah term was completed. But at the time of the break, the warden said, Cushman had been working In the prison court Inside the south wall, cleaning up the grounds. The warden asked all doctors and hospitals to be on the alert for the fugitive, who may seek medical aid for his probable wounds.