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July 14, 1908

Sand Lake, New York

“Her beauty was marked, and even among the host of pretty girls of Troy Hazel Drew was distinctive.”

The Evening World July 14, 1908

Duncan Kaye knew that July 14 was going to be a busy day. New leads were developing rapidly and more manpower would be needed. Jarvis O’Brien used his influence with the Troy Police Department to procure two detectives who were placed under Kaye’s supervision. Louis Unser and John Lawrenson began that Tuesday. For reasons never explained, but most likely to avoid competition among jurisdictions, Kaye split the four investigators into two teams. John Lawrenson was paired with John Murnane and Louis Unser with William Powers. Lawrenson and Murnane would conduct the investigation and follow up leads in Troy. Unser and Powers would concentrate in Sand Lake and Averill Park.

The investigators were still trying to determine where Hazel went after she left her aunt at 10:00 on the morning of July 6. Either Hazel lied to Minnie about going to Watervliet or something happened to prevent her from going there. Lawrenson and Unser interviewed the conductors and passengers on the Pawling Avenue trolleys and they interviewed people at Union Station to see if anyone remembered seeing Hazel. Because Hazel was an extraordinarily pretty young woman the investigators were confident that someone would remember seeing her. They wouldn’t be as fortunate as they hoped.

Meanwhile Louis Unser and William Powers went to Sand Lake. Their task was to find anyone who may have seen Hazel, figure out how she travelled out to the country, and if she had company. They started at the Averill Park train station and worked from there. They talked to shopkeepers, waiters, and people on the streets. Because Hazel was originally from that area and had returned on several occasions, the likelihood of finding someone who saw Hazel, they believed, was very strong.

(II)

Hazel’s funeral was held that Tuesday. Although the family owned a plot in the Mount Ida Cemetery in Troy, they decided to bury Hazel in her native Poestenkill instead. The service at the Larkin Brothers Funeral Home was conducted by the Reverend George P. Perry from the First Baptist Church in Troy. The graveside service at Barbersville Cemetery in Poestenkill was conducted by Reverend J.H.E. Rickard of the Methodist Church on Third and State Street in Troy, the church that Hazel attended.

Having many friends and admirers, Hazel was a very popular young woman. Her extraordinary beauty and warm disposition did not escape the notice of young men, although at the time of her death it was believed she did not have a steady boyfriend. Surprisingly, very few people attended her funeral. The low turnout was both a shock and a disappointment. It could have been due to the heavy rain that fell but the newspapers reported that only 8 to 10 people, mostly family were present. Hazel’s uncle, William Taylor attended the funeral but did not go to the burial service at the cemetery.

Following the graveside service, Kaye and Powers drove up Taborton Road to interview Taylor. They passed through the Hollow and took the left turn onto the road that led to Taylor’s farm.

William Taylor had lived on his farm for 18 years. He was 52 years old, tall and powerfully built but his body showed the inevitable signs of wear that comes from a life of labor. Taylor was a sullen man. He spoke slowly and deliberately. His neighbors thought he was odd and they avoided him. Prone to bouts of depression, Taylor attempted suicide by cutting his wrists following the death of his wife the previous winter. He was detached from the rest of his family and except for his farm, he did not seem to have any interests.

When young Hazel left Poestenkill to work for Thomas Hislop in 1902, John Drew and his family lived on the farm with Taylor. Drew and Taylor were partners but they could not get along. About two years before Hazel’s death the two men had such a major feud that John moved his family to Troy. Only John’s oldest son, Joseph and his wife Eva remained with Taylor. They continued to work with their uncle until the spring of 1908 when they too had a falling out. Joseph and Eva moved to Troy where Joseph found work as a baker. On April 1, Taylor took in two new boarders, Frank Richmond and his wife, to help him work the farm.

Taylor told the detectives that he did not know that Hazel was in the vicinity and she had not been to his farm in several months. He had not seen his niece and he was not expecting her. He didn’t know if she was coming to see him or anybody else. The last time he claimed to have seen her was the previous winter when she showed up at his house unexpectedly. Hazel claimed she was ill and for about three weeks Eva took care of her. Taylor did not ask about her illness and did not assist in her care. He merely allowed his niece to stay at his farm until she felt well enough to leave.

Hazel did not leave her room for more than a week. Eva brought her meals and tended to her needs. After Hazel regained her strength she did go out occasionally, usually with Eva. She spent most of her time reading books and writing letters and postcards. Except for neighbors, no one called on or visited Hazel while she was at the farm, not even her parents.

Taylor told the investigators that on Wednesday morning July 8, his boarder, Frank Richmond asked him if Hazel was at the farm. To Taylor, it seemed like an unusual question. He told Richmond he hadn’t seen his niece and the matter was dropped.

On July 11 Taylor said he learned that a woman’s body had been pulled out of Conrad Teal’s pond, just up the road from his farm. Even though he was told three days earlier that Hazel might be in the area and he had not heard from her, Taylor had no interest in going to the pond or learning who the victim might be.

That same evening, which was the night before John Drew identified Hazel’s body, Frank Smith’s father, stopped in to see his neighbor, William Taylor. Smith told him that his son had helped pull a woman’s body from the pond and had reason to believe the victim may be Taylor’s niece, Hazel. Still the uncle did nothing. He did not notify his family of the possibility that Hazel may have died and he did not go to the Larkin Brother’s to see if he could identify the victim. He simply did not want to get involved.

Family squabbles aside, William Taylor’s actions were beyond the realm of normal and the investigators could not rule out the possibility that he may have had something to do with his niece’s death.

Through the combined efforts of the investigators working in and around Taborton Mountain on July 14, a story was slowly beginning to unfold. The detectives learned about a witness who knew Hazel and claimed to have seen her walking up Taborton Mountain the night of July 7.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ednG4F7ZXYcG6zuDcRffQY7VzJxEU3K6_WyYpuJlSjrDfgMLpO12onJufUmPetwy16ofp0T7dCk5CN0RrBkLtJKMflfUvHBaLJzcte2Yi9XGl0w0KLk1npa7TU2QamBU1EpU46Q1

Frank Smith, William Taylor, and Minnie Taylor. Taken from the Times Union, July 17, 1908

(III)

Tuesday Evening July 7

7:30 pm

Rudy Gundrum was a 35 year old charcoal burner who lived on the mountain near the village of Taborton. He had invited two friends who lived in Albany to come and spend a few days fishing in the country. Gundrum prepared his horse and wagon and left his house at 6:00, leaving plenty of time to be in Averill Park to meet his friends’ 8:00 train. Shortly after 7:00 as he was approaching the summit of Taborton Mountain. He saw Frank Smith walking along the road and offered him a ride. The young man accepted and climbed aboard.

Rudy Gundrum in 1935. Photo from Images of America: Sand Lake Revisited by Mary D. French and Andrew St. J. Mace

Just after Smith joined Gundrum, they passed a rig coming from the opposite direction. The two men recognized the couple in the wagon, Henry Ryemiller and his wife who lived near Taborton. The four people exchanged greetings as they passed and continued towards their respective destinations.

Smith and Gundrum traveled down the mountain at a slow pace. They drove by Teal’s pond, the road that led to Glass Lake and then the road that led to Taylor’s farm. When they reached the Hollow around 7:30 Gundrum saw a very attractive, well dressed young blond woman casually making her way up the road. Gundrum told investigators,

“We had just passed Taylor’s road…which turns off from the main road when I saw a girl with light hair carrying a black hat trimmed with black feathers in her hand. She said ‘Hello Frank’ and he answered hello and then said to me ‘That’s John Drew’s oldest girl.” Neither Smith nor I got out of the wagon and the girl went on up the road. (The Jamestown Evening Journal, July 15, 1908)

Smith and Gundrum continued down the mountain. Within a couple of minutes of passing the young woman, another wagon approached. Once again, Smith and Gundrum recognized the occupants. William and Elizabeth Hoffey were neighbors who lived further up Taborton Road. Once again the four people exchanged greetings and continued on their separate ways without stopping.

When Smith and Gundrum arrived in Averill Park they stopped at Harris’ Saloon to have a few drinks. Gundrum eventually left to meet his friends but Smith remained. At 8:00 the train arrived and Gundrum brought his friends up the mountain to Taborton. They arrived at Gundrum’s home at 10:00. They did not encounter anybody on the mountain road the entire way home.

8:15-10:00 pm

Frank Richmond and his wife had been living on William Taylor’s farm for three months. Before going there, friends warned them not to move out to the country. As quoted in the Troy Record on July 14, 1908, Richmond “…remarked that when he first took up farm work on the mountain, having lived in Troy, he was told that it was a tough place near Teal’s pond.” Richmond and his wife ignored the warnings. From the time he moved in with Taylor on April 1, Richmond claimed he never saw or met Hazel.

On the night of July 7, Richmond’s brother, Harry came in from Troy. He took the train that arrived in Averill Park at 9:00 pm. Around 8:15 Frank and his wife hitched their horse to a wagon and left Taylor’s farm. Taylor was sitting alone on his porch quietly smoking his pipe when they left. The couple went down the road and turned right onto Taborton Road. They passed through the Hollow about 45 minutes after Smith and Gundrum saw Hazel. The Richmonds continued down the mountain. They did not see or pass anyone along the way.

The train station in Averill Park, NY. Frank Smith was asking about Hazel here the night she was last seen alive. Photo taken from Images of America: Sand Lake by Mary D. French and Robert J. Lilly.

The Richmonds arrived at the station just before 9:00. They went inside and sat down on a bench. While they waited they heard a noise and turned to see Frank Smith peering at them through a window. He entered the station, approached the couple and said, “I see you have company up at the house.” (Troy Times July 14, 1908)

Richmond had no idea what Smith was talking about and asked him to explain. Embellishing his encounter Smith said, “I met John Drew’s daughter on the road and she wanted to know if Will was home.” (The Troy Times, July 28, 1908)

The Richmonds were confused. Taylor had not said anything about Hazel visiting the farm. He was alone when they left and they didn’t pass anyone on their way to town. They couldn’t understand how and when Hazel would have arrived at the farm. Smith, they thought, must be mistaken.

When the train pulled into the station, Harry Richmond stepped off and greeted his brother. Frank, his wife and Harry all climbed onto the rig and left for Taborton Road. It was 10 o’clock when they arrived back at the farm. When they went inside, Frank looked around but Hazel was not there. Taylor’s bedroom door was open but he was in bed. Richmond would speak to his employer about Hazel the following day.

11:00 pm

George Shriner, the Postmaster at the Averill Park Post Office and his good friend and ex-supervisor Mr. Carman were sitting on a bench outside the post office around 11:00 pm. They were relaxing, taking in the cool night air when their serenity was suddenly interrupted by the sound of running feet and heavy breathing. They looked up and saw an exhausted and breathless Frank Smith running towards them, coming from the direction of Sand Lake. He ran directly to Wright’s Pharmacy and pulled hard on the door, desperately trying to get inside. The two elderly gentlemen knew the teenager. They called over to him, asking if everything was alright. Smith told them that he needed to get something inside, that it was really important. When they told him that the pharmacy had been closed for hours and Smith realized that he wouldn’t be able to get what he was after, he turned and without another word sprinted back towards Crape’s Hotel and the Taborton Road.

(IV)

Frank Smith had reportedly seen Hazel walking up Taborton Road at 7:30. At 9:00 he inquired about Hazel’s whereabouts at the Averill Park train station and two hours later he was seen frantically trying to get into the pharmacy. The day the body was discovered in Teal’s pond, Smith’s father told William Taylor that his son believed the woman he helped pull out of the pond was Hazel Drew. This was before John Drew identified the victim as his daughter. Jarvis O’Brien and Duncan Kaye talked to Frank Smith the day the body was discovered and he had not mentioned any of this to them. O’Brien and Kaye knew they had to re-interview Frank Smith immediately.

Smith worked on Phillip Brown’s farm near the top of Taborton Mountain. The two officials drove to the farm and met with the teenager. They remembered Smith telling them about pulling the body out of the pond and seeing the hat and gloves on the cowpath.

Wright’s Pharmacy, Averill Park, NY. Frank Smith was seen desperately trying to get into the pharmacy the night Hazel was last seen alive. From Images of America: Sand Lake, by Mary D. French and Robert J. Lilly

Smith was familiar with Hazel. He said the first time he met her was about a year and a half earlier at Taylor’s farm. He saw her again when she was staying with Taylor in January. He went over one night to play cards and at one point Hazel and Eva visited the Smith’s farm. They stayed for a few hours listening to the phonograph.

The last time Smith said he saw Hazel was on Tuesday July 7 around 7:30 in the evening. He looked at his watch when he left work at Brown’s. It was eleven minutes after seven. He accepted a ride down the mountain from Rudy Gundrum. He confirmed that they passed Henry Ryemiller and his wife riding in the opposite direction.

Smith told the investigators that he and Gundrum continued down the mountain. Just past the road that leads to his father’s house and Taylor’s farm, at the bend in the road called the Hollow they saw Hazel leisurely walking towards them. She was wearing a white waist, black skirt, and carrying her unusual hat, the one with three large feathers. She was alone and didn’t appear to be in a hurry.

Smith said Gundrum slowed the horse as they approached the pretty twenty year old. Hazel smiled and pleasantly said, “Hello Frank”. Smith nodded and replied, “Hazel”. Gundrum didn’t stop. After they went a short distance Smith said he turned and watched Hazel continue through the Hollow. She had not yet reached the turn to her uncle’s farm when he lost sight of her. He turned back around and told Gundrum that the girl was John Drew’s oldest daughter.

The two continued and a short time later passed William and Elizabeth Hoffey coming up the mountain. Smith and Gundrum continued on to Sand Lake.

Jarvis O’Brien was furious. He demanded to know why Smith did not mention any of this when they met at the pond three days earlier. Smith nervously replied that he did not realize at the time that it was Hazel’s body that he helped pull out of the water. He said he did not make the connection between seeing Hazel on the road and pulling the decomposed corpse out of the pond until later, after O’Brien and Kaye had driven away. O’Brien did not believe him.

Whereas it is true that Hazel’s body was so badly decomposed and disfigured that her own father didn’t recognize her, Smith said he noticed Hazel’s hat when he saw her walking up the road. He examined the same hat on the cowpath four days later. The hat was unique and not easy to forget with three large plumes and the letter H pin stuck prominently in the front. Even if he did not recognize Hazel, O’Brien believed that he should have remembered the hat.

Smith confessed that he had been thinking about Hazel since he saw her walking up the mountain. He told the investigators that Hazel was the prettiest girl he knew. He liked Hazel and wanted to call on her. Throughout the week he visited neighbors, including Libbie Sowalsky and asked if they had seen Hazel but no one had. It is unclear, however why Smith never went to Taylor’s farm if he was so interested in calling on Hazel and thought it was where she was staying.

O’Brien wanted Smith to explain the conversation he had with Frank Richmond at the Averill Park train station. Smith said that when he and Gundrum arrived in the town, they stopped at Harris’ Saloon. They had a couple of beers and Gundrum left to meet some friends. Smith remained at the saloon, drinking and talking to the bartender, Mr. Harris.

Just before 9:00 Smith, for reasons never published, went to the train station and ran into the Richmonds. Knowing that they stayed at Taylor’s farm and remembering that he saw Hazel on the road earlier, Smith inquired if she was at the farm. Richmond told him he didn’t think she was. That’s when Smith decided he would ask his neighbors if they had seen her.

O’Brien demanded an explanation for Smith’s mysterious run to the pharmacy at 11:00 that Tuesday night. Smith explained that after leaving the train station he walked to Crape’s hotel and continued drinking whiskey and beer. He met some men from New York who challenged him to a series of bets. They first wagered that he could not run around a tree 75 times in one minute. Smith said he lost that bet but they agreed to let him win his money back by running to Averill Park and back in 15 minutes. But to prove that he went all the way, he would have to return with a postcard from Wright’s Pharmacy. An inebriated Smith took the bet. He claimed that Chris Crape timed him and, even without the postcard, he lost the bet by one minute.

O’Brien didn’t trust Smith and was very skeptical of his answers. The more the boy talked, the more the District Attorney was convinced that Smith was somehow involved with Hazel’s death. The following exchange was printed in the July 14 Troy Press.

The district attorney came out flatly and asked Smith: “Frank, didn’t you hit Hazel on the head and throw her body into the pond? Tell the truth now.”

With a shudder the youth replied: “No, sir, I didn’t. Why I wouldn’t do anything like that to a dog.”

(V)

By the end of the day on Tuesday the investigators had a better idea of Hazel’s movements. She was now believed to have been alive as late as 7:30 on Tuesday evening July 7, but they still needed to find out where Hazel spent Monday night and figure out specifically when and where she died.

Hazel’s destination was another mystery still confounding the investigation. If Frank Smith was telling the truth when he said he turned and watched Hazel walk up the mountain, she had not yet reached the turn to her uncle’s farm. Was she intending to go to Taylor’s farm? If so, why? Why would Hazel abruptly quit her job, deceive her aunt about going to Watervliet, spend the night in some unknown location then show up unexpectedly at her uncle’s farm, this time without Eva being there? Why would she visit her uncle who she hadn’t seen in five months and apparently had only a lukewarm relationship with at best.

Could Hazel’s destination have been the Bly’s house where she vacationed the previous summer and where she met her Watervliet friends? The Bly’s lived several miles from Sand Lake. Hazel was walking up the lonely mountain road, wearing nice clothes, and heeled boots. Smith and Gundrum claimed they saw Hazel in the Hollow around 7:30. It was beginning to get dark and she would still have had a long way to travel. Did she encounter a murderous stranger on the road?

When Smith and Gundrum saw Hazel walking through the Hollow they both noticed the hat she was carrying but neither recalled seeing a handbag or suitcase. Minnie Taylor said that when Hazel left the Harrison’s house on Monday morning she was carrying both. What happened to them? It was approaching dusk when Hazel was going up the mountain, walking away from the train station. If she was intending to spend the night with someone on the mountain, why didn’t she bring a change of clothes?

Detective Kaye and the other investigators needed to verify the accuracy of the witnesses’ statements. They had to be sure that Taylor was being truthful and that Hazel never went to his farm on July 7. They couldn’t rule out the possibility that Hazel did go to Taylor’s farm and the eccentric uncle for some reason murdered his niece. They had to look into the possibility that, after seeing Hazel, Frank Smith returned up the mountain to meet Hazel who then rejected the socially awkward teen and was killed as a result. They had to look into the possibility that Smith and Gundrum together assaulted Hazel along the isolated stretch of road.

In the opinion of the investigators, the witnesses were unreliable which meant anything they said was suspect. Every detail of their statements would have to be verified. Because so much of the mystery revolved around Hazel’s intended destination, the focus was placed on finding her suitcase. It did not make sense that Hazel was in such a remote area at that time of the night if she was not intending to stay there. Investigators had to be sure that Hazel really was without her suitcase and that Smith and Gundrum simply did not notice the luggage. The area around the pond was searched but not the pond itself. The first first order of business on July 15 would be to open the gates of the dam to drain the water. The investigators would have to see what clues lay undiscovered on the bottom of Conrad Teal’s pond.

July 15, 1908

Conrad Teal’s pond

“Some suspicion this afternoon points to the uncle of the dead girl, William Taylor, as being connected with the crime. The authorities are at least convinced that he knows more of the case than he has told, and he was questioned at length this afternoon.”

The Morning Call (Paterson, NJ) July 15, 1908

“While District Attorney O’Brien does not commit himself directly, he regards as peculiar the actions of (Frank) Smith.”

The Times Union (Albany, NY) July 15, 1908

By mid-morning on Wednesday, the gates of Teal’s dam were opened and the water flowed freely down the mountain. Louis Unser and William Powers were on hand, ready to trudge through the mud to look for Hazel’s suitcase, purse or any other evidence including a possible murder weapon. The pond was expected to be completely drained by noon but as 12:00 approached it was apparent that more time would be needed.

Newsmen were on hand hoping the detectives would uncover some piece of new evidence they could use to entice their readers. However, boredom set in as they waited for the water level to recede. Some reporters stood by, patiently waiting; others walked along the shore of the pond. Two New York reporters, Louis Howe and John Kelly wandered over to the cowpath. They were examining the ground where Hazel’s hat and gloves were found when something shiny attracted their attention. Howe reached down and picked up a pair of woman’s eyeglasses. He brought them over to the detectives standing nearby at the dam. Detective Kaye knew immediately the glasses matched Minnie Taylor’s description of the ones Hazel was wearing.

The discovery of the glasses convinced the detectives that Hazel had not struggled with her attacker on the cowpath. The loose fitting nose glasses would have logically fallen off in the early stages of an assault. The neatly stacked hat and gloves, with the glasses lying nearby was not consistent with a crime scene where a violent struggle took place. It was more likely that the glasses were tossed on the ground, landing near the other items. The detectives reasoned that if Hazel tried to defend herself from an attacker in the woods, her possessions would be scattered. There would be no reason for her killer to neatly consolidate her accessories before fleeing. This left two possibilities. Either Hazel walked into the woods voluntarily, maybe to meet someone or was escorted by someone she knew and trusted, or she was murdered somewhere else and her hat, gloves and glasses were placed in the woods to conceal them. The detectives didn’t think it was likely that Hazel went into the woods voluntarily. So by deductive reasoning, they believed that Hazel was killed in some other location and not in the woods by Teal’s pond.

Following the discovery of Hazel’s glasses, Powers and Unser began an extensive search of the woods. They started at the dam and continued around the south side of the pond, the side opposite Taborton Road. The water level continued to recede and the detectives were extending their search when they came across a white handkerchief lying on the ground. The letter “P” was embroidered in the fabric. Hoping it may be an important clue, they turned it over to Detective Kaye.

By 2:00 the pond was completely drained. To the disappointment of the investigators and the reporters, there was no suitcase or any other evidence lying in the mud. Smith and Gundrum’s claim that Hazel wasn’t carrying a purse or suitcase was at least partially verified.

Detective Kaye carefully examined the handkerchief with the embroidered letter P. He determined that it was too old, too worn and had been lying exposed to the elements for too long to have had any relevance to the case.

While Unser and Powers continued their investigation in Sand Lake, Detective Kaye returned to Troy to brief Jarvis O’Brien. The District Attorney was in his office talking to reporters when the detective arrived. O’Brien was in the process of debunking some of the medical rumors. Apparently Dr. Boyce had been spouting his belief to the press that Hazel had been strangled by her corset string, a theory the doctor was single handedly perpetuating. Dr. Boyce presented his belief to reporters that Hazel was out walking along on the lonely road when she was dragged into the woods, sexually assaulted, then struck over the head. To assure that she was dead, the killer strangled her with her corset string then dumped the body into the water.

O’Brien and Kaye had interviewed several people including George Alberts regarding their opinion on the ribbon. The following was printed in the July 14, 1908 Troy Record.

The statement that when the body of the girl was found a corset string was tied about the neck and had to be cut off was disputed this morning by George Alberts, who was one of those who helped remove the body from the water. He stated to Detective Kaye that it was nothing more than an ordinary silk cord that any woman might wear as an article of dress. Alberts said that being in the water the twine shrunk, causing it to be imbedded in the flesh. He said that he took particular notice of the ends of the cord and they did not contain the brass tips used on corset strings. Detective Kaye also had doubts as to the use of the corset string.

Wanting to see for themselves, the reporters asked the District Attorney if they could examine the ribbon. O’Brien, realizing the importance of keeping the press accurately informed and not wanting to alienate the reporters, allowed it. Kaye left to retrieve the clothing. When he returned he began to spread the items out. When he picked up one of Hazel’s gloves, a nickel fell out and loudly bounced on the table.

(II)

The discovery of the nickel in Hazel’s glove raised important questions. Investigators wondered what Hazel was doing with the five cent piece and where it came from. Was the nickel all the money Hazel had? Why was it in her glove? Where was her purse? Was the nickel all the change she had left from some larger amount?

Minnie Taylor told investigators that when Hazel left the Harrison’s she boarded the trolley intending to go to Watervliet. If Hazel did go to Watervliet, she would have transferred to another trolley that would take her across the Hudson River. If she didn’t go to Watervliet, as investigators were beginning to believe, and if she didn’t get off anywhere else, Hazel would have continued to Union Station. If her trip out to the country began at Union Station, she would have taken a trolley back up Pawling Avenue to the Albia train station which was about a mile past the Harrison house. This would have cost five cents. From Albia Station Hazel would have transferred to the Troy and New England Railroad that would have taken her out to the Averill Park station, costing fifteen cents more. If Hazel had a quarter when she started at Union Station, five cents would be the amount she had left.

Hazel may have begun her trip to Averill Park with her last twenty five cents but once she arrived she would not have enough money to return. She could have been going to her uncle’s to borrow money or she could have been planning to meet somebody in Averill Park and assumed she would not need return fare.

(III)

As unlikable and untrustworthy as Frank Smith was his stories were slowly being confirmed. He claimed that after he and Rudy Gundrum saw Hazel in the Hollow they went to Harris’ Saloon in Averill Park. Harris, the proprietor, was tending bar that night and verified that Smith and Gundrum arrived together. Gundrum left to meet his friends coming in on the train but Smith remained and had a few more drinks.

At approximately 9:00 Smith was at the train station telling Frank Richmond about his encounter with Hazel in the Hollow. The exchange was witnessed by Richmond’s wife.

Around 11:00 George Shriner and Mr. Carman witnessed Smith’s frantic run to Wright’s Pharmacy which he claimed was part of a bet. Chris Crape confirmed that Smith had been drinking in his bar and did partake in several bets with out of town guests. Crape said that he timed Smith’s run and watched as he left the tavern, sprinting towards Averill Park. He also verified that Smith lost the bet by one minute.

As difficult as it must have been, Jarvis O’Brien came to the conclusion that Frank Smith, one of his prime suspects, could not have murdered Hazel Drew. His actions were all accounted for, his alibis all checked out. He simply did not have the time or the opportunity to go back up the mountain, locate Hazel, who would not be waiting on the road all that time, murder her, dump her body in the pond then leave the hat and gloves on the far side. Based on the times that Frank Smith was seen, he could not have been involved with Hazel’s death. Detectives were forced to eliminate him as a suspect and had to rethink the possibilities.

Hazel was in a precarious situation but didn’t appear to know it. She was all alone on a desolate road with the sun going down and not enough money to return home. Although the idea of a random attack at first seemed improbable it was never ruled out. Dr. Boyce among others insisted that the remoteness of the area was conducive to such a danger. Frank Richmond had been warned by friends in Troy that the area was dangerous. Hazel however, did not display any signs of anxiety or distress as she passed along the road. If Hazel felt that she was in any danger she would have sought assistance from Smith and Gundrum, both of whom stated that Hazel appeared pleasant and unconcerned. Investigators began to question if Hazel, naively walking along the isolated country lane, after passing Smith and Gundrum crossed paths with some dangerous person who attacked and ended her life. After investigators spoke to Bertha Neustiel, the random attack theory was given more attention.

Bertha Neustiel lived with her brother on the road to Glass Lake not far from Teal’s farm. She told detectives that a couple of years earlier, while walking along the road near Teal’s pond, she was accosted by two men. She said she frantically fought them off, was somehow able to escape and returned home safely. She never reported the incident.

If Bertha Neustiel was telling the truth, and there is no reason to believe she wasn’t, it means there was at least one predator who had been active in the same area that Hazel’s body was found. Investigators could not rule out the possibility that the vulnerable young woman was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In other developments, detectives were investigating a rumor that Hazel frequently visited Averill Park with an unidentified man, possibly an insurance or real estate agent and would dine in some of the finer restaurants. They learned that she and her companion may have been in Averill Park on July 6. They were also investigating a rumor that Hazel and her aunt, Minnie Taylor were in Averill Park on June 21 riding in a carriage with two unidentified men.

(IV)

On this fourth day of the investigation, Jarvis O’Brien was beginning to publicly voice his frustration at the lack of cooperation he was receiving from Hazel’s friends and family. He told reporters that investigators had talked to dozens of Hazel’s friends and people she associated with. They were unanimous in vouching for Hazel’s moral character but not one of them knew where she spent the night of July 6. As far as her friends knew, Hazel was not dating anyone at the time of her death. She was not the type of girl who would spend the night with a boyfriend and she most definitely would not go home with someone she just met.

Besides vouching for her character, Hazel’s friends provided no other useful information.

District Attorney O’Brien deplored the fact that the friends of the girl are so reticent about disclosing facts which might lead to clearing up many perplexing questions. He attributes to the silence of those who knew her much of the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the handbag and suitcase… (Troy Times, July 15, 1908)

O’Brien was unable to determine if the friends didn’t know any more than what they were sharing or if they were cleverly withholding information. They did not go to the authorities on their own but rather waited for the detectives to locate them and most of them were reluctant to provide the names of any of Hazel’s other friends.

Hazel’s friends frustrated the investigators but Minnie Taylor infuriated them. She steadfastly refused to cooperate with the investigation or provide the names of any of Hazel’s male friends.

(Minnie Taylor) has refused to tell who Hazel’s male friends are, saying they had nothing to do with the crime. (Evening World, July 15, 1908)

The press reported that Minnie confirmed to O’Brien that she and Hazel did go on the carriage ride in Averill Park on June 21 but she would not reveal the names of the men who accompanied them. She stated that Hazel’s friends had nothing to do with the murder and she would not destroy the reputations of innocent people.

The following exchange took place at the Harrison residence between Minnie and a reporter for the Evening World newspaper. It is consistent with how Minnie cooperated with the investigation.

“Were you Hazel’s chum?” was asked.

“Yes, she fancied me more than others. She wanted my company.”

“You and she took auto and carriage rides?”

“None of your business, Mister,” snapped the woman. I refuse to tell you or anyone else our private affairs. None of our friends had anything to do with the murder. I won’t drag innocent persons into this. I don’t know how she died and can’t explain why she went to Teal’s Pond.” (Evening World, July 15, 1908)

After Hazel left the Cary’s, she had her trunk delivered to her parent’s house. On July 15 the newspapers reported that Detective Kaye examined the contents. The trunk contained Hazel’s clothes and some personal items. The most significant discovery in the trunk however, was a bundle of letters and postcards that Hazel had saved. Detectives sorted through over one hundred pieces of correspondence in the hopes of obtaining some insight into Hazel’s personal life. They also hoped to learn more names and addresses of Hazel’s friends, including some that Minnie and others would not reveal. One writer in particular deserves attention.

The C.E.S. Letters

A bundle of six letters and postcards found in Hazel’s trunk were signed with the initials C.E.S. The unknown writer cared a great deal for Hazel, “the flaxen haired girl” and in one instance scolds her for “being a flirt”.

The C.E.S. letters were sent from Boston and New York. Published in the July 14 Evening World, one of the letters read:

Your merry smile and twinkling eyes torture me. Your face haunts me. Why can’t I be contented again? You have stolen my liberty. Please don’t forget a promise to write. When I reach Albany again, I will meet you at the tavern. I must see you soon or I’ll die of starvation.

Not allowing reporters to read the letters, Jarvis O’Brien revealed that Hazel met the mysterious C.E.S. in New York no later than June 13.

(V)

The discovery of the nickel in Hazel’s glove was one of the most important clues the detectives had yet encountered. It provided evidence that whatever Hazel’s intentions may have been, she did not intend to stay the night in Sand Lake. It also excludes robbery as a motive for her murder.

Along with her suitcase, Hazel was also carrying her purse when she left her aunt on July 6. Minnie described the brown purse as oblong shaped about six inches in length and with straps. Hazel’s whereabouts were unknown from the time she left her aunt at 10:00 Monday morning until 7:30 Tuesday evening when she met Smith and Gundrum on Taborton Road. She was not carrying her suitcase or her purse at that time.

It is logical to assume that Hazel’s suitcase and handbag were at the place she spent the night of July 6. When she was walking along Taborton Road she was carrying a nickel in her glove. The importance might not be so much that she was carrying money, but where she was carrying it. Or, to look at it another way, why wasn’t she carrying her purse?

Hazel may have spent that Monday night in the Sand Lake area, possibly somewhere on Taborton Mountain. She could have merely been out for a short stroll when she was seen by Smith and Gundrum. That would explain why she wasn’t carrying her handbag. But if she was only out for a walk, then why would she be carrying money? The area where she was walking was remote and desolate. If she was just out getting some fresh air she wouldn’t need any money and would have left the nickel at the place she was staying. It is unlikely that she decided to go out for a walk and just in case bring some money with her. So rather than bring her purse, she decided instead to bring her gloves so she could carry her money in them. Why bring her gloves but not her handbag?

Perhaps Hazel wasn’t just out for a walk, but rather went someplace where she did need to bring money, maybe to get a bite to eat or to buy something in the village. So again, if she needed money, why not bring her purse? Because she was seen in the Hollow walking away from Averill Park as the sun was going down, it makes sense that she was returning from town, not on her way there. A nickel, then would be the change that was leftover from some greater amount. It is much more likely a women as conscious of fashion and style as Hazel was would have been carrying her money in a purse, not in her glove.

So regardless of Hazel’s purpose or destination when seen by Smith and Gundrum, she wasn’t carrying her purse and was left to carry change in her glove as an alternative. Her purse then was inaccessible and probably located at the place she was staying. That place was not in the Sand Lake area. If it were, she would have had access to it.

It can be assumed that Hazel had gone to Sand Lake but was not intending to spend the night. If she was, she most certainly would have access to her purse and her suitcase. If Hazel had a place to stay like she had with the Blys the previous summer, someone would have come forward and her possessions would have been turned over to the authorities during the investigation. No one did, and they were not. So building off the clue of the nickel found in the glove, it is unlikely that Hazel was in Sand Lake very long and she was not planning to stay.

The nickel found in the glove also indicates that robbery was not a motive for her attack. If she was walking up the lonely road and came upon someone who killed her and stole the purse, a nickel would not be in the glove, it would be in the purse. She was carrying the nickel in her glove because she did not have her purse with her.

If Hazel was in Sand Lake temporarily then she had to have been staying somewhere else. The question was where? Keeping Unser and Powers back in Sand Lake, Kaye and the other detectives now shifted the focus of the investigation to Albany and Troy. Detectives checked all of the hotels and other boarding places where Hazel may have spent the night of July 6. No Hazel Drew was registered in any of them.

Detective Kaye logically assumed that Hazel went to Union Station on July 6 after she left her aunt. She placed an order with the Westcott Express Company at 1:15 for her trunk to be picked up at the Cary’s house. The Westcott Company’s office was located at Union Station. She may have also made (or planned to make) a trolley connection to Watervliet.

Kaye went to the baggage room at Union Station and talked to the parcel clerk, Adelbert Atwood. Atwood said there were a number of unclaimed bags and remembered one in particular that had been there for about a week. He excused himself and went to a back room to retrieve the light brown suitcase. He returned and handed the piece to Detective Kaye. Kaye took a close look and saw the initials H.I.D. engraved near the handle. He immediately realized the importance of his find. Hazel’s suitcase was checked at Union Station at 1:49 pm, on Tuesday July 7.