Search Parties' Vain Quest For Missing Woman

NZ Truth, Issue 1214, 7 March 1929, Page 1

Search Parties' Vain Quest For Missing Woman

MtSS' ' McHAFFIE, a 39-year-old' brunette, was training at' the St. Helen's Hospital, in Durham / Street, Sydenham,- and in theimmediate future "she hoped to take her certificate 1 in midwifery, when her qualifications then would have embraced every phase of nursing. She was a highly skilled woman in her profession, and is credited with performing meritorious pioneering work in the mothercraft training institutions, both in Wellington and Invercargill. Up till quite recently she enjoyed good health. She was. devoted to her work, and in her spare time she took more than a passing interest in the science of psychology. She had a few friends and they were close companions, but beyond this small circle nobody appears to have claimed her interest, and consequently the forging of a chain of evidence which would lead ( to her discovery has been a very difficult one. There is one potent fact: Jt is that the woman has made a complete and mysterious disappearance for" some reason Known only to 'herself. Why this sudden disappearance, causing such alarm to her friends- and relatives? . , Tragic Silence . What was the motive behind her decision to plunge into oblivion — into a silence which, daily, increases in its tragic portent? • \ In August of , last year, Miss 'McHaffle left the Mothercraft Training Institution in Invercargill to train at St. Helen's, in Chiistchurch, for midwifery, and quite recently she informed the matron, Miss Trotter, that she was in need of a rest from her work. Consequently, she severed her connection with the hospital, and on Saturday, February 16, she left Christchurch by. train, .for.., the West •CbasE J ~ 1 She. intended going to spend a short holiday with, a friend, a Mrs. Simpson, at the Teremakau farming settlement, near Kumara, about midway between Greymouth and Hokitika. There, in the solitude,' she hoped to find the relaxation and rest that her jaded nerves and extreme mental anxiety required. She booked her passage from Christchurch to Kumara, and at 10.20 a.m. on the Saturday . morning she waved what has been up till the present her last good-bye. , In company with Nurse Johnson, who had completed a period of relieving duty at St. Helen's, .Miss 1 McHaffie sp&nt the morning in town, and together they had morning tea at Beath's, Ltd., in Cashel Street. ' '

HAS DEATH CLAIMED KARITANE NURSE?

She Disappeared Into Thin Air, Leaving No Clue or Reason Behind

Was Very Worried When She Left Christchurch To Spend A Needed Holiday

MYSTERY OF MISS McHAFFIE'S DISAPPEARANCE

(Fr.om "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative)

Without so much as a Word of farewell to her dearest friends or relatives and with no explanation or warning, Dorothy Hamilton McHaffie, a Karitane nurse, training at' St. Helen's Hospital, m Christchurch; has disappeared completely, and for nearly three weeks she has maintained an unbroken, but now ominous, silence. So far as can.be ascertained, not a living sod has heard from her since she left the great Midland express at . Arthur's Pass on the afternoon of Saturday, February 1 6, and her mysterious* disappearance, leaving but one useless clue to her whereabouts, has those interested m her Welfare and those engaged m the search baffled and bewildered.

says ' that though^here; was something- obviously worrying Miss McHaffle, she gave no indication that 1 she had anything in her mind beyond going to Kumara for a muchneeded rest. But from the time the express left Christchurch the mystery deepened. • In the three hours between leaving Chriatchurch and the arrival of the train at Arthur's Pass, the lonely settlement which • nestlesbetween two ranges of mountains on the Canterbury aide of the Otira tunnel, Miss McHaffie decided to change her plans. Instead of continuing her journey to But, Little Trace Kumara, as she, apparently, originally intended, she left the train and deposited her baggage aC the Arthur's Pass railway station. Her baggage comprised two medium-sized suitcases, a black leather hat-box, a rug, rolled around a cushion, an umbrella, a fur necklet and a light brown tweed coat. Since arriving at the Pass she has completely disappeared. The railway clerk, E. McCullough, who took charge of the baggage and issued the checks for it, told "N.Z. Truth's" investigator that he had no -recollection of who tendered the bags ,beyond that it was a woman. Arthur's Pass is the crossing station for the east-bound and west-bound midland expresses, and while both trains are in there may be as many as five hundred people on and about the station. What with tourists and holidaymakers .making inquiries about the drive over the Pass to Otira by road — a route which is taken by many people in, preference to the ride through. the tunnel — and many other inquiries of a general nature, the small staff at the railway station has as much as it can handle to get both trains away to time. It is a natural consequence,, therefore, that- they have little time to take stock of. everyone who deposits luggage for safekeeping. . Up till Miss McHaffie's mysterious disappearance, the only tangible fact concerning her is that she left. Christchurch on the train Nothing Definite bound for Gireymouth, and was accompanied on the station by Nurse Johnson, who waited until the train left. That she did get as far as Arthur's Pass, and that some other? woman did not deposit her luggage for her, is practically certain. Guard Arthur Henderson, who had charge of the express from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass, and brought the Greymouth express back from Arthur's Pass to Christchurch, stated in an interview with "Truth's" investigator, that he had no recollection of anyone answering Miss M'cHaffle's description until he saw her photograph published in a Christchurch paper. He then recalled that a woman with similar features had asked him, when he was checking the train after leaving Addington, what time the express was due at Kumara. Questioned as to whether this woman, presumably Miss McHaffle, might have returned on the Greymouth express to Christchurch the salrae day, Mr. Henderson was unable to offer any definite information beyond that he had no recollection of any of his outward passengers returning from the Pass. It could have been possible for, Miss

McHaWe\ to have ief f* ' th^tf am" 'aiT ttte Pass and motored to Kumara, via the Pass-Hqkitika Road, as is very frequently done by travellers that way, but none of the service- car drivers who were • interviewed by either "Truth" or the police, have any recollection of carrying anyone on that day or on subsequent days, answering to Miss McHaffie's description. The fact remains that Miss McHaffie did not arrive at her destination that evening, nor has she arrived there since. - J Mrs. Simpson was telegraphed | to the effect that her friend was going across from Christchurch that day, and when, a few days having passed, the passenger failed to arrive, the police were notified, though it was a week later before any information was made

regarding the woman's disappearance. Under such circumstances those concerned m the search for her were confronted with a tremendous difficulty, for had Miss McHaffie chosen to have hidden herself for any reason best known to herself, she had exactly one week m which to think out, and travel to, her hiding place. Whether Miss McHaffie journeyed on further westward, whether she returned m the direction of Christchurch, or whether she wandered away on foot from Arthur's Pass is an unsolved mystery. If m her normal state of mind, Miss McHaffie could not have intended going fai*, otherwise she would not have gone on foot, and if she. did go on foot. she. must have been observed, for there is only the Pass Road to Otira for her to traverse, unless she was seeking "the shelter and solitude of the bush.

- Had^s'fie lot^er"kTOuri'fthur's'Pass for any time she must have been seen, as the settlement is small and compact and bounded almost within a stone's throw by the mountains and the river. If, on the other hand, she wandered into the bush, she may never be found, as the country^ m that vicinity is vast and rugged, with overgrown ravines and bush-clad spurs. It is definitely certain that the luggage 'left at the Pass railway station was all that Miss 'McHaffie had with her when she left Christchurch, and when she left 1 the Pass all she had was the clothes she wore. She had with her £2 m cash, and a Post Office bank book, the account for which is m Invercargill. As far as could be ascertained up

till last Saturday night, the account had not been operated on at any post office m Canterbury, so her only ready cash would be the £2 she carried m her purse. A rumor was circulated that, early m the week following her disappearance, two letters addressed to Miss McHaffie, care of the Arthur's Pass Hostel, had mysteriously disappeared from the letter rack at the hostel, but inquiries established that this statement was absolutely groundless, and that no one answering Miss McHaffie's description had been se'en m or near the hostel. A comprehensive search throughout southern Westland was made by the police officers, and hotels, accommodation houses and other likely places throughout the territory between Greymouth and the Franz Joseph Glacier were called on, but no trace of the missing woman could be found. Constable William Caldwell, of Otira, who has had the matter m

hand since the news of Miss McHaffie's disappearance was first announced, has made a meticulous search of the Pass Road and its environs, and has conducted a house-to-house inspection in both, Otira' and Arthur's Pass, but without success. No one can recall seeing any strange woman, in the locality 'at the time, and a minute inspection of the " adjacent bush and the river-beds by search parties organised by Constable Calclwell has failed to, yield the slightest . clue that would lead to the whereabouts of the missing nurse. Had it been Miss McHaffle's intention to hide herself Jn the bush counA Capable Nurse try, in or near the Pass, it would be easily possible for her to do so without fear of detection as the. bush in that locality is very dense, and searchers could go within a very few feet of her and not find their quarry. On the other hand, of course, it is over two weeks since Miss MeHaffie' disappeared, and as she was not stoutly clad, nor in the possession of food, it is very doubtful whether she could exist for long in the bush with neither food nor suitable clothing. The matron and the staff at St. Helen's Hospital in Christchurch are unable to throw any light on Miss McHaffle's disappearance. Matron- Trotter told a "Truth" interviewer that as she had only known Miss McHaffle since August last, she had learned little more of her than that she was a capable woman in her profession. The matron was definite that Nurse McHaffle had left the institution entirely of her own volition, as she said she had been worried and found herself unable to concentrate on her studies, which were the preliminaries to her sitting for a portion of her midwifery examination in April. "She had appeared to lose her grip on her studies," said the matron, "and thoug-h she was depressed at the time she was packing her bags, she seemed to be cheered up with the prospects of going away for a spell." The matron stated that there was no question of Miss McHaffle's work being anything but satisfactory, * and Mental Distress __ _ she left the institution on the understanding that she could return whenever she felt well enough and complete her course in midwifery. "Wiiat was her state of mind or her demeanor when she was packing up to leave?" asked the interviewer. Matron Trotter replied that the missing nurse was obviously mentally distressed over something, but she was confident she would benefit by a spell, and she appeared to be quite cheerful when she left with Nurse -Johnson to join the train. Miss McHaffie's intimate friends in Christchurch were bewildered by her disappearance, and cannot account for it.- They do not, nor .do the police, suspect any foul play, but the theory of molestation, and a possible violent death, cannot be discounted at this stage. It is known that Miss McHaffle, immediately' prior to her departure from Christchurch, was suffering from extreme mental anxiety concerning a friend's health, and, in her worried state of mind, it is thought that this may have had a temporary ©ffect on her. Whether, in a of nervous prostration, she held some fearful dread of the future, whether she has lost her

memory, or whether she wandered away into the silent vastness of the Southern Alps to forge't the world or to obliterate some distressing memory, at present -remains unsolved. It may be that, .fearing a total nervous collapse, she has quietly sought the companionship of her friends in some other part of the country, but this is unlikely, as her anxious relatives have not heard from her .since her disappearance. Miss McHaffle originally ;came from Hamilton, where she has a brother and two sis.ters still residing. Her parents are dead^ It ' has been alleged that some days before she left Christchupch , she said to a' friend: "I will come back when it is all over and then you will see how simple it all was," but "N.Z. Truth," while not questioning its source of information, ■ was unable to verify the statement. Such a length of time, elapsed between Miss McHaffie's disappearance and the time that it was announced, that she would easily have had time to travel to eithen, end of the country,. On the day that she disappeared she was wearing a jumper suit with a rosecolored tweed skirt and a, crepe de chine blouse and biege sh'oes. She is -v • B For What Reason? about fl-^e 'feet tall, slight of stature, sallow, cqmplexioned, and with /dark brown hair, which is worn in plaits over each ear.. Her complete disappearance has baffled the police, for she has" left without a trace or a word of warning. ' If she is secreted in the hills, the task of locating her might never be accomplished. One needs to travel that Great Alpine Divide to appreciate the vastness of the country and the utter futility of anything but a *at-, the tremedous natural fortress that the Southern Alps represent to the searGher. On the other hand, Miss McHafne might have perfectly good reasons of he.r own for seeking the seclusion of some friend's home where time and rest will heal an anguished mind. But,- if such is the case, she is causing an unnecessary amount of distress among those to whom she was closely attached, while the police department, under such circumstances, would.be foolishly wasting i(s time on a wildgoose chase. . The complexities of the feminine mind in times of stress have accounted for more remarkable happenings than the disappearance of Miss McHaffie, but her prolonged silence, and the complete manner in which she has vanished without leaving one likely clue to her whereabouts, is most disconcerting to everyone concerned.