BANKRUPT DROWNED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 260, 16 August 1935, Page 4

BANKRUPT DROWNED

WALKED INTO HARBOUR. SWAM OUT INTO CURRENT. Press Association). AUCKLAND, August 15. A few hours after a meeting of creditors liacT been held to discuss his financial position, an elderly man, William Henry Terry, accountant, who resided at Epsom, walked into Manukau at the southern end of Mangere Bridge, this afternoon. He was seen to swim cut into the channel and then to be carried along by the swiftly-flowing current. Subsequent search for the body proved unsuccessful. Terry was first observed by Dr. W. Howard Thomas, of Onehunga, who has been attending him at intervals for about 15 years. Dr. Thomas was motoring from Mangere to Onehunga, and when he was about to drive over the bridge lie saw Terry standing near the water’s edge with a dog at his heels. He drove on, hut looking back after he had travelled a short distance lie saw that Terry was taking off his overcoat.

The suspicions of Dr. Thomas were immediately aroused, and he turned his car round and drove back to the Mangere end of the bridge. For a time lie lost sight of Terry, but finally saw that the latter had. been swept underneath the bridge and was swimming strongly out into the channel. Dr. Thomas immediately called out to him, but Terry, beyond looking up and nodding in recognition of the call, continued to swim out into the harbour.

By this time the current had taken Terry and was carrying him along rapidly. Dr. Thomas had no' doubts concerning the identity of the man whom he saw walk into the water. He said that Terry had recently been in poor health.