FOUL PLAY?

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1640, 6 January 1913, Page 5

FOUL PLAY?

A SENSATIONAL, AFFAIR AT PETONE. CHASE OF BURGLAR., PURSUER NOT SEEN AGAIN, ; ORGANISED SEARCH. Extraordinary indeed is on occurrcnct which is reported from Pptonc, and which ... took'plaai oil Saturday might.' Tho mys- i tcry attaching'to''it is fetill' utisolvifd. It appears that a young man named Frank Carter, aged' 30 years, proceeded to his homo in C/.ba Street, P' f tono, at; ■ . lO.tlO on Saturday night. He hail supper .with his mother and' other ' member,s of tho family, and shortly after retired to ■ hi.3 room. Tho father cauio homo at about 10.45,. and, ascertaining- that, all the; in-. mates of the house,wero home, proceeded outsido to lock up. J : Whilo ho was thus engaged, a man approached him from behind. Mr. Carter turned quickly, and tho man (supposed. to'havo'becu: a burglar) made off 'round • tho house. Mr. Carter thereupon called to Jus son for .assistance, and tho son, jumping out of his bedroom window, pursued'tho: supposed burglar over a fonco . " 6ft.-high, and has neither been seen nor heard of since. < . .. Immediately, after the occurrence. tho police, woro communicated witlij and tiicy, assisted by members of tho,Carter family, , commenced a diligent search, all round tho grounds. ■Yesterday morning tho search party: • was strengthonod, tut further scouring of tho country proved futile. In ; tho afternoon a party of ono hundred residents of • Petone,' under Sergeant Forster! and Do- , tectivb Bailey, set up o .moro 1 Organised search as far as Lower Hutt, and all the country between; Cuba Street and' tho Hutt 'Eiver, almost covering cvefy inch. of tho ground, but not the slightest duo. was obtainable, and up till lato last night no further developments, had taken place, In'an interriow, Mr. Who i 3 a • ' manager of tho Gear Meat Works, and a resident of Petone,of soino 25 years, stated : that tho man, wlijim hii . thought was a ■ burglar,,did not Etrike,' but approached . in a, threatening , attitude, . and lio (Mr.-Carter) -tolled' ;out ■ "FrankT*Hfr •» did hot scb his son'jump'out pf 'iho-bo<l-" , -«' room 'window which was on; tho other , side of tho houso nor did ho see him chaso tho: fugitivo over tho fenoo. but J . the only supposition that can bo offorcd i is that tho 6on did as described) • - v> i Mrs. Cartor, ■ mother -of tho misaing man, stated that her eon waa just as , usual during tho 'evoniilg ' and oonvcrscd in his,u6ual way,. .He w0nt,.,,. to . his room; elio hoard 'him open,, tho . window—a thing ;which ho frcqnontij did. ' Tho bod had not been . slcpf' in, - arid 'sho bcliovcd: that iho .had really.-—*-.•• .chaied tho man. Ho could only havo boan- dressed in--fiinglot, , trousers, and stockings, as all his other clothing wero ~ in tho bedroom. " .- ■■~ Tho missing man was tho ■ holder of a , chief engineor's («rtilicatc, and hos' beon ' absent from home,, at sea/ and in other .: capacities for six or seven'years. Ho came homo 1 about a'.'c6uplo 'of. months ago, aid spent part of. his holidays, in trio country. Ho had intended" remaining in : Petone for some time to oomo. ; - .. '-'A numbor> of . theories: liavo .boon .i. .somo people boing .of tho opinion . that tho unfortunato man has been' done to doath, and tho, body .thrown into; 1 the river, whilo others think that if the burglar. 6howcd; fight,■ tho victim,might have' been stunned and wandered away. . Others again suppose that ho may hav( . mot with nn aficidcnt. - All'day jester'day little groups <»uld bo seenjin tho main'streets discuesihif'tln :r, iiffair, and tho. whole town has'tibeei, . thrown into,a 6tato of cxcitemcnt. Sfarcli will. bo continuodi.txwlay, .and prolwWy both tho river and'tho eca front will.be dragged. .. .. ' .!■.. ■.... : On two ocoasions eomo timo ftgo bub- , picious-looking 1 : -inllividuals i havo' beon eeen on Mr. Carter's premises. - The'residenco is somewhat isolated and currounded »y irc«.: Saturday night was very dark, and'tho street lamps some ' distanoe away, i so'that an assailant could ■ have ongaged With his. pursuer without : attracting any attention. ; ■. v. Young Carter has travelled a lot, and - | is well able to tako caro of himself: Ho f is about sfti BLn. in; height, very dark, with black hair and moustacho. ,