SENSATIONAL ESCAPE

Hokitika Guardian, 30 January 1928, Page 1

SENSATIONAL ESCAPE

(TAMERS DOAYN AYAI.b FROM FOURTH FLOOR.

AUCKLAND. January 2

A. “cat burglar" made a sensational escape from the fourth floor of the l>ilwortli Building, Queen St., on a recent evening at a moment when it was thought that ho was trapped in an office behind a locked door. There had ibeen several thefts in the building, the occupier of one office losing a. cheque for a considerable amount. From that time occupiers of other offices there had keen ou. the qui v i ve. A few nights ago one business man had occasion to call back at bis office on the fourth floor, and as soon as he opened the door he saw a man fiddling with a bunch of keys and trying to unlock a drawer in the desk. The businessman promptly slammed the door, locked it. and called for the caretaker. The caretaker was handy, and the door was then unlocked, hut to the great astonishment of the pair the room was empty. An open window provided a clue and a hurried glance over the sill revealed the man working his way dexterously toards the ground by means of a downnipe. It was far ten perilous a path for the business man and caretaker to follow, and when they hurried to the ground floor the burglar had vanished. •

Those who viewed the scene of the exploit agree that the man merits the description of “cat burglar.” He certainly carried his life in his hands, as the handhold was precarious in the extreme. and nobody but a man accustomed to dizzy heights Could have trusted his grasp to bring him safely down the sheer wall of the building. The “cat burglar” is not. unknow n in Auckland, but is certainly scarce in comparison with the übiquitous shopbreaker and raider of dwelling-houses. The exploit of the man who visited the Dilworth Building recalls the amazing feats of a “cat burglar” in Grosvenor Square. London, a few months ago. pnrtaculnr desperado clambered up a. drainpipe for a distance of sixty feet, hung on the outside of the dressing-room of a titled lady until she had gone below to dinner. climbed in through the window, and toads good his escape with _ £9OO j worth of jewellery.