Body Of Elderly Man Found In Drain

Chronicle (Levin), 8 July 1949, Page 5

Body Of Elderly Man Found In Drain

— — PALMERSTON" N., July 8. Partly covered by loose grass, the , body of an elderly man was found lying in a lonely, shalloy ditch on a farm property at Milson yesterday morning. Although no sure . maans of identiflcatioia. are available, it is believed • his name is Harry Haynes,. about 77 years of oge, who hss been living the life of a recluse in a rough board hut pn the property of Mr. J. Linkla'ter for ten years. i The condition of the body suggests that he had been dead for (some days althou'gh one neighbour states he saw and spoke ,to him on Mpnday or Tuesday.' On that occasion he had been trying to stop a bus to travel to the store in Milson Line, but it appeared that the man's dirty state an'd an amount of blood on his person, dissuaded the bus driver from stopping. The old man then entered the Disabled Servicemen's Farm and after speaking to the trainees, was given a packet of tobacco and

matches which, he said, was the purpose of his.proposed trip to the store. At that time he did not seem to be in pain and it was believed he had fallen down and hurt himself so that blood became apparent. After- receiving the tobacco the nld man expressed his 'intention .of returning to his hut, The conditions under which he had been living were discovered when the police visited the scene yesterday morning. The shack, which stands about 100 yards from the roadway, has a rnud floor and contains a rough bed of straw and sacks, while the table in the hut is thick with dift. There fwas no sign of food in the hut but an uniwashed plate on tlie t table was j bvidence of a meal at sometime en? joyed. The windows . are partly boarded up, . r • A person who might be able to throw cqnsiderable "light- on the old man's ideptity is the qwner of the property, Mr, J. Linklater,-. but he is at, present in Australia jAnci' is not' i expected to i'eturn uriti! Tater in [ the month. It is believed Mr. Linklater assisted the dead man in many ways. Although the lo.ose grass ovef the body appears to have been placed there purpose^, it is believed the dead man did this himself, perhaps , for warmth when he found •hej could not rise. The place where the body was found by Mr. J. I. Linklater, is within about 200 yards of the homestead. A puzzling feature of the man's death is that there was no evidence wha.tsoever as to his identity. A thorough search for scraps of paper which might lead to his identifieation or that of relatives, was altogether unavailing.