Girls' Strange Stories.

Manawatu Herald, 3 July 1902, Page 2

Girls' Strange Stories.

An extraordinary story has been told to the police by a seventeen-year-old girl who resides with her parents in the vicinity of Auckland. She states that she left her home at half-past seven last Monday evening to deliver a letter a quarter of a mile away. She was accosted by three strange men, masked, with pistols in their hands. They ordered her to Stand still, dared her to call out or move, and made her undress, removing all her clothing except her boots, They allowed her to keep her waterproof cloak and umbrella. The mysterious trio were then, she said, 400 yards away. One of the men picked up, her clothes and ordered her to walk up a by-way into the main street.

According to the girl’s story, the men made the following statement: — “ We have been playing ping-pong until we were tired, and we agreed to have some fun with the first woman who came put in such weather as this.” None of the men laid hands on. her. She did not call out,, but went to a friend’s house, where she was admitted in a nude state, her clothes being found in a parcel on a verandah later. Inquiries made by the police show that 41x6 girl actually wept to her friend’s house iii the condition described by herself on the evening in question, but as the night was very web, comment is made on the fact that the clothes when found on the verandah were quite dry; There is a strong suspicion that, she removed her clothes there before knocking for admittance. Her story la doubted by her father and friends, although her mother affirms her belief in all her daughter says. A story similar to the above is„told, in a letter to the “ Star,” whioh if genuine justifies belief in that told by girl No. 1, the names, times , arid; localities being different, though both affairs are reported as having occurred last Monday night. In the second case the girl states that she was accosted by three masked men. who compelled her to, strip herself of all her clothing, struck her with the butt end of their pistols because, she screamed, gagged her, and left her with only an umbrella, not far from her own home, which she reached in , the condition stated. Steps are being taken to verify this story, which, unlike the former, had not been reported to the police. ■Later,

A reporter made diligent search for girl No. 2 at the address given, which was a lane off Pitt street, but failed to discover her. It is presumed that the case has no foundation in fact.