NO TRACE FOUND OF ERNEST BURR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19243, 3 December 1930, Page 16

NO TRACE FOUND OF ERNEST BURR.

DETECTIVES RETURN TO CITY FROM SEARCH

After ten days of inquiry into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Ernest Mansfield Burr, the West Coast mill-hand, who has been missing since November 7, DetectiveSergeant J. B. Young and Detective Halcrow returned to Christchurch last evening. Their investigations have proved fruitless. The case is now just as it was at the beginning, though search parties are still out looking for a clue which the detectives may use as a starting point. Though the return of the detectives may be taken as an indication that their investigations on the West Coast have for the moment come to a standstill it does not imply that they have given up all hope of solving the problem. Several Theories. Any one of four things may have happened to Burr. He may have gone away of his own accord; he gone into the bush and have met with an accident; he may have done violence to himself; or he may have been murdered. Each of these possibilities had to be taken into consideration by the detectives, who, consequently, have not been able to form any definite theory on which to work. Evidence points to only two of these, however, that he has gone away, or that he has been murdered, and of these the second seems more likely. Ernest Burr was an ordinary, hardworking type of man, who had earned the respect of his friends. He was of an affectionate nature, very much attached to his mother, brothers and ters, and to his children, whom he used to visit regularly prior to his disappearance. It hardly seems likely, therefore, that he should leave his home without saying anything of his intentions. Against this theory, too, is the way in which he left. Only one suit jf clothes was missing, and his larder was well stocked. In a work-shop at the back of his home were some uncompleted toys he had been making for his children. In addition there was his livestock. He had a cow and some fowls, some of them sitting, and previously he had always asked neighbours to look after them when he went away. He did not do so on this occasion. The same arguments stand against the theory of suicide. Such troubles as he had were not sufficient to cause a man of his temperament to do away with himself. Accident Possible. The accident theory is a possible one though his friends do not place much credence on it. Burr was an experienced bushman, who had been brought up on the West Coast, so that the dangers which the wild country surrounding his home would present to a stranger, would not hold the same peril for him. However there is the possibility that he may have gone for an early morning walk through the bush and met with an accident. The strongest evidence against this is that it had been raining the day previously and the wet bush is far from pleasant to walk in. Blood Stains Found.

Weightier evidence supports the theory of foul play, though a definite motive is lacking. The condition of the bedroom in which Burr was accustomed to sleep is the main support for this theory. When the police and relatives entered the bedroom for the first time following the disappearance they found that the bed clothes—sheets, blankets and pillows—were missing. Closer examination revealed that the wall at the head of the bed was covered with tiny splashes of blood, the biggest of them measuring an eighth of an inch across. The spots were on the wall on both sides of the bed and between the bars at the head. They seemed too. numerous to be the result of an accident, so -the bed was examined. It was a double wooden bed, at the head of which three bars ran from the top to the lower bars in addition to the two side posts. Jn the side of the middle bar at the bottom there was a bloodstain several inches in length. It extended on to the back of the lower bar where it was in one place over an inch in width. Brother’s Conclusions. The floor of the room appeared to have been recently scrubbed and taking this into consideration the relatives came to the conclusion that their brother had been murdered. Their theory was that their brother had been killed m his sleep and that after disposing of his body and of the bed-clothes, which would be stained with blood’, the murderer came back and cleaned up the .room. T his would account for the noises which a neighbour heard at dawn. Detective-Sergeant T- B. Young was sent for and with other detectives made extensive investigations. The results of these will be submitted to the Commissioner of Police (Mr W. G. Wohlmann), but the general public is not likely to hear of them until some trace is found of Burr.