A NEW ATTEMPT TO EXTORT MONEY.

Kumara Times, Issue 1475, 20 June 1881, Page 2

A NEW ATTEMPT TO EXTORT MONEY.

The City of New York was thrown into an excited state early in April, by a frustrated plot to abduct a child as a means of extorting money; The family of Mr Louis Strasbarger, a wealthy jeweller, received (states the Times' Philadelphia correspondent) during several weeks letters threatening to ahduct his daughter. Rosa, aged 11, if 60,000d015. were not paid. An attempt was made to abduct her, but failed, and the case was placed in the 1 hands of the detective force. The conspirators proposed that the governess should appear in a Gertain street, walking over a specified route, with the money in an envelope, dropping it when a pistol was fired. This was tried several times, but no pistol was fired. Finally, on Thursday (April 17th), a letter came ordering this to be done again immediately. The governess started, with an envelope containing a blank paper, and walking, as instructed along Sixtyfirst-street towards. Fifthavenue. A detective, hy a circuitous route, entered Madison avenue, near Sixty-first street, as the governess came along. A pistol-shot was fired; the governess dropped the envelope, and a man picked it up. The detective rushed after him, and a scuffle ensued, during which the detective's pistol went off, as he avers, accidentally. The ball entered the man's eye, instantly killing him. The accomplice who fired the pistol was afterwards captured. Other arrests have now been made. The inculpated parties are all Germans, who came from Europe in October by the steamer with Mr Strasburger's family, when the plot was formed. Full disclosures have been made, and the apartment where the child was to have been hidden has been discovered, as also has been the fact that passages to Europe for the chief parties had been engaged. This case resembles the Charles Ross abduction case so much that it attracts' general attention.