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Police nab three . . .(Continued from Page 1 )The constable said he fired four shots in their direction but it was too dark to see properly. Cruisers from Milton O.P.P. rushed to the scene and Constables Bob Haines and Jerry Terryberry, the first to arrive, handcuffed McKenzie and Woods and rushed them back to the jail in their car.Both were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs and placed in the back seat of the cruiser. On the way back to jail, Const. Haines said later, McKenzie tried to push the driver’s seat of the cruiserforward with his feet, but theseat was locked in place and theattempt failed.By the time they got back to the jail, both prisoners were quite subdued and calmlywalked into the jail smokingcigarettes. In just a little over an hour after their escape, they were back in cells and well separated from each other.Cpl. Larry Kneale, rushingalong Highway 401 to theCampbellville overpass where the getaway car and two men were captured, said he spotted Lebar trying to thumb a ride onHighway 401 halfway between the Guelph Line and the Five Sideroad overpass. He quickly wheeled his cruiser around, “but by the time I got turned around and got back there, he had disappeared.” Kneale said he thought he saw the man’s white shirt disappearing into the bush on the south side of the road so he radioed for help and within a minute, cruisers from surrounding departments had the triangle bounded by 401, Guelph Line and Five Sideroad cordoned off.Since it was into this triangle the two men had run away from Const. Halliday, police figures they were both trapped in there. More officers were called in and they soon began arriving from Kitchener, Downsview, Oak Ridges, Brantford, Whitby, Burlington, Port Credit and Brampton O.P.P. detachments and from Burlington and Hamilton Police Departments.Two police dogs were also called out, one from Hamilton P.D. and one from the O.P.P. office in London. By midnight the dogs were tracking across the rugged terrain but the time lapse gave them problems, as did the damp ground which covered up scents.Shortly after midnight the police squad had built up to around 60 men and the entire area was effectively ringed with police every 50 feet. Several cruisers patrolled the roads in the area and police carrying rifles and sawed-off shotguns stopped many cars to question occupants and search trunks.Meanwhile the village residents had heen alerted to lock their doors and leave their lights burning. Police searched all barns and vacant buildings in the area, checked with train crews at Guelph Junction to make sure no-one had hopped slow freights on the nearby C.P.R. line, and searched around quarries and gravel pits in the neighborhood.Through the night a thick fog began building up and soon visibility was practically down to zero.A few minutes after 2 a.m. Mrs. Lloyd Chisholm of Campbellville Sideroad near the Sixth Line telephoned Milton O.P.P. to report someone had just driven their car out the laneway and headed east toward Highway 25. A cruiser driven by Const. Douglas Ormsby of Milton O.P.P. was at Highways 401 and 25 when the stolen carreport was broadcast on the radio, and a minute later he spotted a car matching the wanted car’s descrption heading south on Highway 25.“We met about Durante’s Service Station,’ he said later. “1 did a U turn and caught up to him and Hashed the light at him.” The suspect pulled the car over and Const. Ormsby pulled the police car in behind, but justas he went to get out of the cruiser the Chisholm car quickly shot into reverse and smashed into the front of the cruiser.The constable jumped out and pointed his revolver at the suspect, who was trying to drive his car away. But the wheels were spinning because the two cars had locked bumpers.The driver was Charles Lebar. He identified himself as Lloyd Chisholm, but Const. Ormsby didn’t believe him as he knew Mr. Chisholm.Ten minutes later Lebar was back in jail. His shirt was wet and ripped, indicating a hasty trip through the dense bush in the Campbellville area, and he was wearing a plastic overcoat owned by Mr. Chisholm.Mrs. Chisholm said later it appeared the man may have spent some time at their farm, as the ashtrays were full of cigarette butts and neither she nor her husband smoked. The raincoat has been in a truck at the Chisholm farm. “I heard thecar door slam and I wondered if the police were back,” she said. When she looked out the window she saw her husband’s car head out the laneway and turn toward Highway 25, so she called the police right away.Lebar was described by police as the “most dangerous” of the four men. Although they escaped from the jail unarmed, all police on the case were alerted to be careful as the men may have stolen some guns along the way. When captured, none of the three were armed.Police kept their vigil at Campbellville throughout the night. Bruce McGregor and the Halton E.M.O. emergency feeding van were called out to provide coffee for the men, and a volunteer Jim Kett of Milton helped him. Several women from the Campbellville area supplied coffee and sandwiches to the men. The policemen were tired and hungry as they had just finished an eight-hour shift when they were called out to assist. One officer had been working since 6 a.m. Sunday but stayed on patrol thoughout the night.Insp. A. Wilson of Burlington No. 3 District O .P.P. headquarters headed up the all-night vigil, as the men waited for daybreak to launch an intensive search of the cordoned off area. But in the morning the area was still fogbound and visibility was only about 25 feet by 8.30 a.m. when the search was called off. Aircraft were standing by to circle the triangle of land but the fog squelched that plan too.One police officer said the fog was so thick in the early morning the fourth escapee could have walked away “20 feet away from me” without being seen.Late Monday afternoon an employee of Halton Region Conservation Authority found two shirts and a pair of socks he believed to be prison garb, on Walker’s Line north of 10 Sideroad in Burlington.Frank Timmermans and his brother Wayne, both employees of the Conservation Authority found an undershirt and a card with a map on the back of it and a phone number.One of the shirts was identified as belonging to Lebar. A letter from his mother and a pen were found in his shirt pocket.Sgt. Keith Robertson ofMilton Police Department theorized McC'ahe and Lehar had split up near Campbellville, one going east and the other south.Police believe McCabe had worn both shirts, trying to stay warm during his flight in the night.Earlier that morning an official at Sherman Sand and Gravel nearby on Walker's Line reported a key missing from one of the pit trucks. Police said McCabe may have tried unsuccessfully to get away in the truck. It was an old truck and had to be pushed to get it started.Milton Police praised the efforts of several citizens who assisted in the investigation of the case. Chief Ray Andress saidmany patrolled the area roads in their cars and he praised the ladies who served food tothe police at the Campbellville search area.He especially praised the man who informed police about the two escapees he saw go over thejail wall. The informant’s nameis being withheld for hisprotection.1ce\\1iI***i«
Newspaper Details
Milton Canadian Champion
Milton, Ontario, CA
Wed, Sep 18, 1968
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Carol H.
USA 11 Oct 2022
Other Publications Near Milton, Ontario
Milton Canadian Champion
