A MYSTERY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 248, 19 October 1928, Page 8

A MYSTERY.

ELSIE WALKER'S DEATH

SECRET OF OLD QUARRY.

FOUL PLAY SUGGESTED,

WHAT HER FATHER SAY'S.

SEVERAL THEORIES ADDUCED.

It is a fortnight aero to-day since the body of Elsie Walker, a sixteen-year-old girl, was found in the scrub near an old stone quarry adjacent to the Knox Home, between Tamaki and Panmure. So far the cause of her death has not been established. What is the secret which this old quarry holds? How did this young girl, who was working at the home of her uncle, Mr. Frank Bayly, at Papamoa, near Te Puke, get to the lonely quarry? As far ae is known she could not drive a car, yet it is stated that she probably took her uncle's Whippet car and drove over 200 miles, abandoned the car at Papatoetoe about mid-day on Tuesday, October 2, the day after she left her uncle's home, and then walked weven miles to the quarry, where she either took her own life or else died from exposure. Absence of Motive. Here are all the ingredients of a first-class mystery. Motive, if motive there was, for the girl's sudden disappearance from home, is difficult indeed to find. Even more difficult is it to find a motive for abduction. The father of the dead girl, Mr. D'Renzy Walker, is at present in Auckland. He is greatly worried, because of reflections that remain on the character of his daughter. Mr. Walker today called at the "Star" office for the purpose of giving some information which he hopes will assist in clearing the matter up and also to establish the good name of his daughter. Father Suggests Foul Play. "Despite what others might say and have said, I am quite convinced, knowing my daughter as I did, that she met with foul play." stated Mr. Walker. In support of this he advanced a number of reasons. He said that it had been definitely established that Elsie was last seen by her cousin after dinner at the home of the Bayly's, at Papamoa, on the evening of October 1. She had just finished her day's work and was dressed in a house frock, over which she wore a reddy, brown apron.. She was not wearing a hat. When last seen she was taking out some scraps in a bucket. Deceased was not missed from the Bayly's house until seven o'clock the next morning. It was Trevor Bayly who first discovered that Whippet five-seater car was missing from the garage. This was at. 1 a.m. on October 2, when he arrived home from a dance. He also noticed that the gates were left open and inquired from his brother whether anyone had been taken ill. When told that no one had been taken ill, he thought no more about the matter and went to his room. Early on the morning .of Tuesday, October 2, the girl was missed, and the Te Puke police were notified while the gill's father was advised on the same afternoon. Labouier Finds Body. The next phase was the finding of the body by a labourer on the late afternoon of October 8. According to the doctor's finding death had taken place about 72 hours before, suggesting that death occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday.

"Elsie was 'found dressed exactly as she was when last seen at the house," said Mr. Walker, "with the exception that she was wearing a boy's (her cousin's) coat. He is about 12 years old. There was a pool of blood under her head. It is known that she had a wristlet watch of her own. Nothing is known as to whether this is missing or not. The girl was supposed to have had in her possession £11 and some silver, this money being missing from the house, as well as Trevor Bayly's watch. There is no proof that she took these, as none of the articles have been found. The girl was not assaulted in any way.

"There is no motive for her suddenly leaving lier aunt's place, dressed as she was, when she had plenty of good clothes in her room. She was very careful and methodical in her habits and dress, so it is unlikely that had she left of her own accord she would have departed in her working clothes. Only the previous Sunday I got a letter from Elsie. It was quite a cheerful letter. It was arranged that she was to meet me at Bayly's on Thursday, October 4. I had a business appointment at Te Puke, and I told my daughter that I would call and see her then, and remain at Bayly's the night before going on again. She was always happy at Bayly's, and fond of her relatives there. When home in April last she told us that she was happy there. In fact, she was very anxious to get back. She was quite happy at home, and one of the reasons she went to Bayly's was to help Mrs. Bayly. Who Drove the Car? "In the first place it is suggested that she left her aunt's place, taking the car with her, and that she drove over 200 miles from Papamoa, through Te Puke, through Rotorua to Papatoetoe, abandoning the car there and walking seven miles to the spot where she was found dead, and that she took either her own life or died as the result of exposure. As proof that she drove the car, the police suggest that this is confirmed by reason of the fact that the impression of the clutch was found on the breast of the left sanclshoe," continued Mr. Walker. "To my knowledge, she lias never driven a car in her life. The only times she has been in motor cars lias been three times in a service car to her home from 1 e Puke and on a number of occasions with Mrs. Bayly. On no occasion lias she driven this car to Mrs. Bayly's knowledge. The only evidence that she could drive a car is understood to have been obtained from Charles Bayly, a boy of four. This child is stated to have said: 'Elsie drive car out of garage, washed it, and then back again.' Concerning this, it is pointed out that assuming this child's statement to have been correct, she might have sat in the car, released the brakes, and allowed it to run a yard or two down the small incline out of the garage to wash it. It is a natural thing for a non-driver in | jlns operation of washing a car to sit I in and let the car run in suc'li a way. ■In fact with some people, particularly I with a girl of 16, it would be an in■trigumg novelty to do this."

"Never Learned to Drive." "She is supposed to have driven through desolate country, a distance of over 200 miles, and reached Papatoetoe early on Tuesday afternoon, despite the fact she has never been nearer to Auckland than Rotorua. She has only been there once. She never saw a car until two years ago. She came to Raukokore when two years old. There is no road to within 40 miles of her home, this distance having to be covered on horseback. She never saw a car until she was 14."

| "Can it be suggested then, when it is j borne in mind that the Baylys never allowed her to attempt to learn to drive, that this young girl, brought up in the backblocks, drove this modern car over a road she had never previously traversed, and what is more, at night time, and at an average speed of miles an hour? The car was known to hold only six gallons of benzine when it left the Bayly's garage. Someone must have got petrol, and if so, they must have been seen by somebody," said Mr. Walker. J Wheel Changed on Journey. "Another mytserious feature of the case concerns the changing of the spare wheel on the journey. "Another point—the state of the girl's hands. Were tliey blistered after such a long drive? Mr. Walker's Own Theory. My theory is that she discovered someone taking the car when she went out with the bucket of slops, and that she tried to prevent them taking the car. She may have been struck on the head, or else the person who drove the car away thought that by doing so he could cause suspicion to rest with the girl for taking the car. Another point is this. Presuming that a man or men were caught while attempting to steal the ear, knowing' that the house was connected by telephone with Te Puke five miles away and Tauranga seven miles o n the other side of Papamoa, they would know that they could not branch off either way without passing through the towns. They may have been aifraid of getting caught, and have decided to take the girl with them, either injuring her then and there, or afterwards. They could not abandon the girl on the road until they were ready to abandon the car themselves. "It is known that the Baylys were in the billiard room, and that a thief would be able to go through the rooms while they were in the billiard room, which is at the end of a long passage. When the door is closed it is shut off from the house." "On Saturday afternoon, September 29, Elsie had two friends at Bayly's house to play croquet with her. She was theu quite well and cheerful. The next day, on . Sunday night, she went to church," said Mr. Walker. "She never went away anywhere oil her own." Money Missing from House. A point which Mr. Walker is greatly perturbed over is the suggestion that she took some money from the house. He believes that someone must have carried out a robbery there on the Monday "Why should a child want to steal °£7 from a purse in Mr. Bayly's room, £3 15/ from Mr. Bayly's trouser pocket, in the same room, and then, from another room, take Mrs. Bayly's purse containing 5/ in cash, a key, and a laundry ticket? And, agam, assuming that she did leave' Bayly's, and in the car, why would she go over a road that was strange to her and m the dark? If she did steal the money, where is it? Either she spent it, or someone took it from her. This has' not yet been traced." Mr. Walker is anxious to know whether anyone saw the Whippet car after it disappeared from Mr. Bayly's garage, and up to the time it was abandoned at Papatoetoe. It was a fiveseater Whippet, painted dark blue, having a black hood of the ordinary type. The number of the car was 27-847. Injury on Jaw. The inquest, which was adjourned sine die after evidence of identification had been taking at the opening, has not yet been concluded. For the past few days Detective Sergeant Kelly has been at Papamoa and Te Puke conducting investigations, and the inquest will not be continued until he returns. When seen this morning, Dr. D. N. W. Munay, who carried out a post-mortem examination on the body of the deceased, stated that there was an injury on the girl's jaw. He is not prepared to state what might have caused the injury, but says that there was no fracture. Dr. Gilmour, pathologist at the Public Hospital, who assisted Dr. Murray, says he has not yet finished his examinations. Yesterday the analyst's report of the contents of the stomach of deceased was made known. Mr. Griffin was unable to find any traces of poison, so there is still no real indication that the gill died by her own hand.