A SENSATIONAL SUICIDE.

NZ Truth, Issue 70, 20 October 1906, Page 3

A SENSATIONAL SUICIDE.

A few weeks ago a young dare-devil named Deering frightened the Auckland police into thinking he had committed suicide. Readers of "Truth" will remember that Deering fastened his coat to the wharf rails, considerately leaving two notes attached to the effect that he had dropped into the Waitemata. At the time we said it was an unholy hoax, and as Deering has since been seen about the supposition proved correct. Bearing this recent case m mind, therefore, one can hardly blame Inspector Cullen for looking: askance at the following epistle which reached !him on Tuesday morning: "To the ; Chief of Police, Auckland.— On the top of Rangitoto will he found MY DEAD BODY. • Please deal with it ai ; your laws

direct. Charles Veitch, alias Charles Pollard." No doubt the Inspector smiled cynically when the letter was handed to him ; and inwardly cursed the writer for a fool practical joker. Still there was the off-chance of the thing being true, and the police cannot afford" to take chances. So early on Tuesday morning a couple of coppers sailed away Rangitoto-wards m an oil launch. Their instructions were to search the island. Doubtless the copmen looked upon it as a fine outing. It was a lovely morning, and as the launch ran up to the island the recovery of a suicide's body was their last thought. On arriving at the destination the constables fastened their boat and proceeded to scour the island, and bearing m mind the wording of the note, they first proceeded to climb the mountain. They reached the top and looking down into the crater found, surely enough, that Charles Veitch, alias* Charles Pollard, HAD KEPT HIS APPOINTMENT. Away there m the solitude he had carried out his intention. Right enough his body was there waiting to be 'dealt with as our laws direct, as his strange note put it. The policemen's journey had, therefore, not proved' a wild goose chase. They carried their dread burden down to the boat and brought it across to Auckland.