POOR SOLACE

NZ Truth, Issue 1190, 20 September 1928, Page 7

POOR SOLACE

Irma Timms Mystery Unsolved (From "N.Z. Truth's" Chriatchurch Repi) The finding of a skeleton m the sands at Brighton towards the end of July this year has solved the mysterious disappearance from her, home m January, 1927, of Irma Lorraine Timms. THE coroner has satisfied himself that 1 the skeleton was that of the missIng child, but that was poor solace for the parents of the unfortunate girli for the cause of her disappearance and the true cause of her death must forever, remain a mystery. . Time, the' great healer, will eventually overcome the torment of an aching heart and an anguished mind, and conjecture at the unfortunate end which overtook the child would. merely tend to agitate the minds of her parents who: cherish pleasant, memories of their bright young daughter before she left h&r home never to return. V There are one or two observations, however, which should be made m fairness to the police who were the target for much criticism at the time when exhaustive searches and inquiries failed to throw any light on the whereabouts, of the missing girl. The skeleton was found with the skull and one hand protruding from the sand about three miles north of North Beach. A pathological examination revealed that no bones were broken. It is strange that not a trace of her clothing was found near tha body, at the time the skeleton was ■ discovered, nor was any traoe found at the time the child went astray. . . It was known, however, that the child was subject to epileptic fits, that she used to stray away at times, and that dui'ing the fits she frequently removed her clothing. It is quite possible, therefore, that had she wandered away into the sandhills and removed her clothing, they might easily have been covered up by the. action of the wind and perhaps no trace will ever be found of them. 1 The .child was between, eight and nine years, of age and had five fits on the day of her disappearance. • Identification was established by the formation of the \upper teeth arid by locks of hair which were found beside the skull. \ At the time of her disappearance foul play was suspected, as a gala was In progress at the seaside resort and there were many strangers m the locality. If the girl was the victim of a brutal outrage her fate will never be known, but nothing was adduced at the inqueat to support this theory, and the girl's •plleptio condition, together with the faots already mentioned* tend to the; opinion that she wandered away Into the sandhills, removed her clothing, wandered on further and died from an epileptic seizure, eventually becoming covered with sand by the action of the wind.