by Laurel | January 29th, 2014
26 January 1922
After Canal is Dragged Where Auto Crashed
Julius Erat, 20 years old, an electrical contractor of Mount Tom, Mass., whose automobile was found overturned last Friday on the Sergeant Street bridge, a suburb of Holyoke, Massachusetts, was located yesterday near the Grand Central Terminal.
Erat returned late last night to his home, accompanied by Peter A. Cullen, Chief of Police of Holyoke. According to Detective Francis Teed of the West 152d Street Station he refused to say what he had been doing in this city. the police of his home town have been dragging the Sergeant Street canal for his body in the belief he had been drowned.
According to Chief Cullen, six weeks ago Erat took out a $45,000 insurance policy with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. When his car was found overturned on the bridge the insurance company, with the aid of the police, started dragging the canal for this body. After several days’ search the police of Holyoke sent out a general alarm to many cities.When Erat’s car was found on the bridge, the police believed it had struck an obstruction and that he had been catapulted into the canal.
John Sheehan, a butcher of 3609 Broadway, formerly a resident of Hlyoke, read in a Springfield (Mass.) newspaper of Erat’s car being found on the bridge. Yesterday afternoon he was near the Grand Central Terminal when he met Erat. Amazed, he told Erat of reading in the Springfield newspapers of his being sought by the police of Holyoke, who had dragged the canal for his body. Erat, according to Sheehan, said there was some mistake.
Sheehan invited Erat to his home for dinner. At his home Sheehan excused himself and wired Chief Cullen. Then he notified Detective Teed. Teed went to Sheehan’s home and questioned Erat, who refused to make any statement.
According to Teed, the Massachusetts man said he would gladly accompany Chief Cullen back to Mount Tom, where he would explain his disappearance.
Extracted from The New York Times.
