Article clipped from Decatur Weekly News

ver have y during Two or from the ses havent, there tur, and;atur, so R. liar-n schoolnding ain wereith thevith it.HEART-RJNDINQ18 the Mysterious Disappearanceof Ohas. A. Todd.proper d oftherospect)idemic ich careouses or *e case.s uld henger is proper t.Mr. Charley A. Todd it* mining* He mysteriously disappeared from his home Sunday night, /September 22d, about 11 o’clock, since which time no tidings of hit w hereabouts or condition has been received by his heart-broken wife, and children and anxious friends* The manner of his disappearance is as mysterious as the secrets of the grave and bis present fate as unsolvable as the riddles of the sphinx.Last Sunday evening Mr. Todd, who lias been in the employ of the Louisville and Nashville Railroud for perhaps thirty years, and was at that time cashier at the freight depot, was at home at work on his hooks. Mrs. Todd assisted him until about 10*30 o'clock, when she retired, and exacted a promise from him to do like* wise in a few minutes. She dropped off to sleep, from which she aroused aboutthree hours later, and discovered that the lamp in the room in which he had been at work was still burning, and he not there. Thinking to find lum about the house or place, she calle , but got no re-tlVCPalHitlaltfclefewitashPtnto hn a tsponse. She thea discovered that the *t(usiness. 88 owns I by the time at ur, therrnined rushes ’t spare10isurely. needed fact an results je seen ritable, hollow ind tlie i fit of heart pe the iend in jovery. ses theK the makes isiness minateItbooks and papers on which he had been at woik were gone, and thinking that he had returned to the railroad company’s ofiioe, or apprehending that something was wrong, she hastily summoned her father, Mr. W. G. Preston, and brother-in-law, lienrv Ilendry, who works in the same office ot tlie L. N., to go in search of him. When they arrived there, they discovered that Mr. Todd had preceded them, and left his books, and from that time and point no further intelligence has come to light of the missing man. The police were notified, search parties instituted, telegrams sent to alt the large cities and near-by towns,and every street and alley, old well and ditch and passible hiding or secreting place, and the woods and liver banks were scoured, in the hope that, either dead or live, the missing man could be found, but up lo the hour of go mg to press, not a ray of intelligence has come from any quarter. Had the earth opened up and swallowed him, his disappearance would not have been more complete nor the manner of bis taking off more mysterious. From day to day, and every hour in the day, the anxious in-Cof 80 of he ha ow dii pomiknye;lattuinciofwllonnoid*buquiry has been, “Is there any news from Mr. Todd?” but to the heart broken familynot a word has come, not a sign, even inthe faint whisperings of the sighing windscbmg man. How awful! Howf pitiful!that sough a dying requiem to the miss-the;etising sub-weekopenispcc-o the and pe to ig for » and us notwillnptly.3th ingi thanhaveoctorsonce.r..Mo.a our e pa»ioria 1ae itjut as if the 3 left were •tions e areMr. Todd was about (50 years old; an honest, upright and highly esteemed citizen. He was a member of the churchand frequent attendant at its services; hewas absolutely devoid of and free from all habits; his word was as good as His bond and his personal integrity, andmoral character above reproach; he wasevery inch a gentleman, quiet, reserved,gentle in manner and speech, and always courteous and considerate of the wants of others; he held the friendship of all and enjoyed the confidence of everyone. In his home life he was an ideal husband and the best of fathers. It was his habit. three times each day, to greet and part with his wife and cbiidreu with a kiss, and never left home lor his work without so doing. So far as motive, or cause, or reason, or excuse, or object or purpose for so leaving home and town, and keeping his departure and destination a secret, none, absolutely none, existed His fate, like the grave ol Moses in the land of Moab, “no man knoweth,” and no man can guess.In personal appearance he was about 5 feet 8 or 10 inches high and weighed about 140 pounds. Complexion, dark: dark brown eyes, rather full, and dark hair; moustache dark, sprinkled with gray; forehead full and high, and rather slow and deliberate in speech. For several days he had been complaining of a great deal of pain in his head. He had beendoing an excesive amount of work and the effect of it was plainly visible on his face and manifest in bis physical condition.Of course all sorta of lt;onjectnrefi have been indulged in, but most probably Chas. A. Todd, if in the li nd of the livingis wandering around n en tally un .Mi-lanced; if dead, the manner mu i cause of his death may never be known.801 a c ho waDrheceiwilhisouiincedimeslenirvalthetireqult;is (i • •in l willovtheancthetheofQ4pieMrstrlt;ye; fro ths of I tio; is iibvwe801umsic:HI Ik AAlkthidiatov
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Decatur Weekly News

Decatur, Alabama, US

Fri, Sep 27, 1901

Page 3

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Brenda B.

NA, 11 Oct 2022

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