STILL NO TRACE

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 74, 6 March 1931, Page 4

STILL NO TRACE

KOHURATAHI MYSTERY MORRISON'S DISAPPEARANCE FRUITLESS POLICE SEARCH Does the virgin bush at the back of Kohuratahi hold the key to the mystery of the disappearance of the missing man Morrison? Sergeant Power, of the Stratford police force, does not know, after/** search extending over two days, this week, during which he scoured the country and searched gullies and ravines until at the end of the day's tramping he was glad to seek rest. "It is pretty rough country, and farther on, bordering Morrison's section, there are several hundred acres of virgin bush on Crown lands, any part of which might hold evidence of the movements of the missing man," he stated to the Stratford "Evening Post" to-day. It appears that Morrison was a bushman to the finger-tips and loved the life and the solitude, and the grandeur of nature appealed to him, and the vistas that spread out before him from every hill-top were a neverfailing feast for eye and mind. So it is stated, at any rate, by those who knew Morrison intimately. However, he disappeared silently and suddenly, leaving no trace behind. Sergeant Power states that no , horses were found during his search. All the beasts and two dogs' were dead, apparently having been shot on the edge of ravines, into which the bodies fell or were rolled after re- •• ceiving fatal injuries or the final blow. Most of the beasts were in gullies, there being 13 cattle, two calves and two dogs. It was impossible to tell how they had come by their death, as the bodies were swollen and decomposition had set in. They might have been shot in the head or the body, and it would not be possible to discover the cause of death until months had elapsed and the head and limbs became detached from the body. "There are miles and miles of the. , ! roughest country imaginable, and .' one might search indefinitely and not hit upon the hiding place if anyone wished to dig himself in and escape detection," added the sergeant. "It • was reported this morning in town that one of the horses had been found dead ,and it is believed ha|l been shot, but I cannot vouch for the ... truth of it. Altogether six horses have disappeared from the farm." The mystery deepens daily. It was on February 17 that Morrison first was missing, and despite the efforts of the settlers and the police they are no nearer a solution of it. '<t.'V«»W.