THE INVERCARGILL ESCAPEES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 174, 2 November 1910, Page 4

THE INVERCARGILL ESCAPEES

CAPTURED BY CIVILIANS. WHILST DRINKING IN A HOTEL. ' By Telegraph.—Prese Association. Invercargill, Last Night. The two escaped prisoners, McQueen and Cordon, who have been at large since Friday, were captured this afternoon. < The police throughout the district have been doing patrol duty night and day since Friday night, but "nothing had been heard of the escapees. , About one o'clock to-day, a settler of Loehiel (15 miles by, rail from Invercargill) informed the police that two suspicious characters had been seen in the neighborhood, going in the direction of Brown's (beyond Winton). The.police immediately telephoned the Winton constable (McQuerrie), but found that he was away. Mrs. McQuerrie, however, undertook to send a boy after him on horseback. The boy found him and he galloped for Brown's.

Meanwhile, two men turned up at Brown's Hotel, went inside and ordered drinks. The publican (Cronan) and his brother thought the visitor's answered the description of the missing prisoners, and while they were talking the matter over, and the men lingered in the hotel, Messrs Oenkins (storekeeper) and McKay (sawmiller) arrived. Eventually 'the hotelkeeper's brother made up his mind to attempt a capture and rushed the suspects. They showed fight, and Jenkins and McKay joined in. While the ' struggle was going on, Constable McQuerrie galloped up opportunely and handcuffed the suspicious ones, who turnr ed out to be in fact the escapees. A passing motorist offered the use of his car for the conveyance of the prisoners to Winton, and the settlers of Brown's provided a motor-cyclist to ride behind the car as a guard. In this way the men were brought to Winton and locked up for the night. Both men were fully clothed in ordinary garments, and the fact they ordered drinks indicated the possession of money.