Death possibly 6-20-1916
Daughter of William Hepler no mother listed on death certificate # 65620
Pottsville Republican of July 3, 1916
MAY BE BODY OF HELEN HEPLER
What may be the last chapter in the famous Mengle-Hepler case turned on Monday afternoon with the finding of a body of a girl,decapitated, in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville. It is believed to be the body of Miss Helen Hepler, the fourteen year old girl whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 2. Her father was notified by Coroner Moore about 10:30 o'clock and he viewed the body which is in a badly decomposed state. He was unable to positively identify the remains although he knew she wore a blue dress similar to the shreds of the one found on her and in the river. The buttons on the dress were practically the same he said and he agreed that she wore a locket, bracelet
and ring similar to those found on the girl in the river, yet he would not positively say that it was his daughter. The mother was sent for at 2:30 o'clock and the body removed to Schuylkill Haven to await her identifying the body. Coroner Moore says that it is beyond doubt the Hepler girl and the state police are of the opinion that it is the girl being sought since January. The condition of the body and being minus the head made identification hard and the father and people who knew Helen Hepler said it looked nothing like her body.The father said that if it is his daughter, it bears out the statement made by him several weeks ago when he asserted that a train struck both his daughter and Clayton Mengle, the boy with whom she disappeared. In order to make identification a trifle easier, the blue shreds of a skirt found on her were washed by the authorities on Monday afternoon before
the mother was brought to identify the body. An investigation is being made and an inquest will likely follow.It will be remembered that Miss Hepler and Clayton Mengle of Schuylkill Haven, who was her sweetheart, disappeared at the same time, the evening of January 2, and nothing was heard of either of them until April 4th, when a boy named Noecker found the body of Mengle in the Schuylkill River just below the covered bridge, at the point where the Bast boys fell in and were drowned some years ago. Up to this time the state police and authorities all over the state had been looking for the pair and had run down more then thirty clues all
of which failed to give the police any information as to their whereabouts. It was rumored in Cressona that the girl had been seen by a policeman in Easton and later in Allentown and after this pictures of the pair were sent state wide in an effort to land them.
Shortly after the funding of the body of young Mengle, a note was found in the Schuylkill River near Reading which read as follows, "We are tired of life and have ended our miseries together. You will find both our bodies in the river." The note was found in an old bottle shaped can was corked so as to be free from rain. The boys that found it turned it over to the police in Reading and the state police in town were notified. They at once started an investigation after securing samples of the writing of both Miss Hepler and Mengel, and finally concluded that the writing was neither that of Miss Hepler nor Mengle, although both their names were signed.The case then was just as deep as ever and the police started to work over some facts that had been brought out at the inquest conducted by Coroner Moore on the evening of
April 11th. It was shown at the inquest that the Mengel boy, who was twenty one years of age, and pretty Miss Hepler, who had just passed her nineteenth birthday, were to meet in front of the hose house in Cressona, friends of the two having testified to this statement. The girl was seen to leave her girlfriends in Cressona and walk towards the Cressona road where she would reach the hose house, and likewise Mengel broke away from his chums and went to meet her. That was the last seen of either of them alive and since that time the authorities have had nothing on which to base any foundation and have been searching for the young lady, the finding of Mengle's body coming as a surprise to them. A hat belonging to the Hepler girl was found in the bushes near the railroad at Connor's Crossing and this together with other information regarding the pair, resulting in the decision
of the girl's father that the two had been hit by a train and driven into the river. A railroad crew several weeks ago also remarked that they felt they had struck someone but were never able to give out any definite information.
Pottsville Republican of July 5, 1916
HEPLER GIRL BURIED TUESDAY
After several hours investigation,. The body of the girl found in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville on Monday afternoon, was identified as that of Helen Hepler and the remains were claimed on Monday night by her parents and were taken from the almshouse to the Hepler home, from where the funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon. The identification was made through a locket which was found on her neck. W. L. McLarren of Cressona, a merchant, sold it to Helen Hepler a week before she went away, identifying it as the same one that he sold her. It had a diamond chip on the top and a large stone setting in the middle, being of an odd figure and easy to identify. When the father saw the body
he said it was not the body of his daughter and with the head not visible he was unable to identify it. He could not identify the bracelet, rings or locket as the property of his daughter although he knew she had some similar to those found on the body. He refused to claim the body and Coroner Moore sent the remains to the almshouse, from where it was taken after the father and mother were shown that the daughter had purchased this locket the week before she and Mengle left Cressona, from McLarren. The blue coat, blue skirt and red sweater were not identified by the parents although this description was given by them and other witnesses at the inquest and when the report of their disappearance was made. Coroner Moore stated on Wednesday that he would not conduct an inquest, that he was satisfied that nothing more could be learned then was brought out at the Mengle inquest. He says that in his opinion the girl and Mengel were struck by a train while on the bridge near Schuylkill Haven and that their bodies were both knocked in the river. Upon
investigation of the body Coroner Moore found that the girl's right arm was broken and that the right arm of Mengle was broken, so that is plausible that the pair were struck by the train. There are many who consider the case a deep mystery and can not understand how the pair were struck by a train and the crew did not ever learn of it or feel the jar. One crew a short time after the pair disappeared said they felt sure they struck some object and when they alighted from their train and went back to investigate, they were unable to find a trace of anyone.
Daughter of William Hepler no mother listed on death certificate # 65620
Pottsville Republican of July 3, 1916
MAY BE BODY OF HELEN HEPLER
What may be the last chapter in the famous Mengle-Hepler case turned on Monday afternoon with the finding of a body of a girl,decapitated, in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville. It is believed to be the body of Miss Helen Hepler, the fourteen year old girl whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 2. Her father was notified by Coroner Moore about 10:30 o'clock and he viewed the body which is in a badly decomposed state. He was unable to positively identify the remains although he knew she wore a blue dress similar to the shreds of the one found on her and in the river. The buttons on the dress were practically the same he said and he agreed that she wore a locket, bracelet
and ring similar to those found on the girl in the river, yet he would not positively say that it was his daughter. The mother was sent for at 2:30 o'clock and the body removed to Schuylkill Haven to await her identifying the body. Coroner Moore says that it is beyond doubt the Hepler girl and the state police are of the opinion that it is the girl being sought since January. The condition of the body and being minus the head made identification hard and the father and people who knew Helen Hepler said it looked nothing like her body.The father said that if it is his daughter, it bears out the statement made by him several weeks ago when he asserted that a train struck both his daughter and Clayton Mengle, the boy with whom she disappeared. In order to make identification a trifle easier, the blue shreds of a skirt found on her were washed by the authorities on Monday afternoon before
the mother was brought to identify the body. An investigation is being made and an inquest will likely follow.It will be remembered that Miss Hepler and Clayton Mengle of Schuylkill Haven, who was her sweetheart, disappeared at the same time, the evening of January 2, and nothing was heard of either of them until April 4th, when a boy named Noecker found the body of Mengle in the Schuylkill River just below the covered bridge, at the point where the Bast boys fell in and were drowned some years ago. Up to this time the state police and authorities all over the state had been looking for the pair and had run down more then thirty clues all
of which failed to give the police any information as to their whereabouts. It was rumored in Cressona that the girl had been seen by a policeman in Easton and later in Allentown and after this pictures of the pair were sent state wide in an effort to land them.
Shortly after the funding of the body of young Mengle, a note was found in the Schuylkill River near Reading which read as follows, "We are tired of life and have ended our miseries together. You will find both our bodies in the river." The note was found in an old bottle shaped can was corked so as to be free from rain. The boys that found it turned it over to the police in Reading and the state police in town were notified. They at once started an investigation after securing samples of the writing of both Miss Hepler and Mengel, and finally concluded that the writing was neither that of Miss Hepler nor Mengle, although both their names were signed.The case then was just as deep as ever and the police started to work over some facts that had been brought out at the inquest conducted by Coroner Moore on the evening of
April 11th. It was shown at the inquest that the Mengel boy, who was twenty one years of age, and pretty Miss Hepler, who had just passed her nineteenth birthday, were to meet in front of the hose house in Cressona, friends of the two having testified to this statement. The girl was seen to leave her girlfriends in Cressona and walk towards the Cressona road where she would reach the hose house, and likewise Mengel broke away from his chums and went to meet her. That was the last seen of either of them alive and since that time the authorities have had nothing on which to base any foundation and have been searching for the young lady, the finding of Mengle's body coming as a surprise to them. A hat belonging to the Hepler girl was found in the bushes near the railroad at Connor's Crossing and this together with other information regarding the pair, resulting in the decision
of the girl's father that the two had been hit by a train and driven into the river. A railroad crew several weeks ago also remarked that they felt they had struck someone but were never able to give out any definite information.
Pottsville Republican of July 5, 1916
HEPLER GIRL BURIED TUESDAY
After several hours investigation,. The body of the girl found in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville on Monday afternoon, was identified as that of Helen Hepler and the remains were claimed on Monday night by her parents and were taken from the almshouse to the Hepler home, from where the funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon. The identification was made through a locket which was found on her neck. W. L. McLarren of Cressona, a merchant, sold it to Helen Hepler a week before she went away, identifying it as the same one that he sold her. It had a diamond chip on the top and a large stone setting in the middle, being of an odd figure and easy to identify. When the father saw the body
he said it was not the body of his daughter and with the head not visible he was unable to identify it. He could not identify the bracelet, rings or locket as the property of his daughter although he knew she had some similar to those found on the body. He refused to claim the body and Coroner Moore sent the remains to the almshouse, from where it was taken after the father and mother were shown that the daughter had purchased this locket the week before she and Mengle left Cressona, from McLarren. The blue coat, blue skirt and red sweater were not identified by the parents although this description was given by them and other witnesses at the inquest and when the report of their disappearance was made. Coroner Moore stated on Wednesday that he would not conduct an inquest, that he was satisfied that nothing more could be learned then was brought out at the Mengle inquest. He says that in his opinion the girl and Mengel were struck by a train while on the bridge near Schuylkill Haven and that their bodies were both knocked in the river. Upon
investigation of the body Coroner Moore found that the girl's right arm was broken and that the right arm of Mengle was broken, so that is plausible that the pair were struck by the train. There are many who consider the case a deep mystery and can not understand how the pair were struck by a train and the crew did not ever learn of it or feel the jar. One crew a short time after the pair disappeared said they felt sure they struck some object and when they alighted from their train and went back to investigate, they were unable to find a trace of anyone.
Death possibly 6-20-1916
Daughter of William Hepler no mother listed on death certificate # 65620
Pottsville Republican of July 3, 1916
MAY BE BODY OF HELEN HEPLER
What may be the last chapter in the famous Mengle-Hepler case turned on Monday afternoon with the finding of a body of a girl,decapitated, in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville. It is believed to be the body of Miss Helen Hepler, the fourteen year old girl whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 2. Her father was notified by Coroner Moore about 10:30 o'clock and he viewed the body which is in a badly decomposed state. He was unable to positively identify the remains although he knew she wore a blue dress similar to the shreds of the one found on her and in the river. The buttons on the dress were practically the same he said and he agreed that she wore a locket, bracelet
and ring similar to those found on the girl in the river, yet he would not positively say that it was his daughter. The mother was sent for at 2:30 o'clock and the body removed to Schuylkill Haven to await her identifying the body. Coroner Moore says that it is beyond doubt the Hepler girl and the state police are of the opinion that it is the girl being sought since January. The condition of the body and being minus the head made identification hard and the father and people who knew Helen Hepler said it looked nothing like her body.The father said that if it is his daughter, it bears out the statement made by him several weeks ago when he asserted that a train struck both his daughter and Clayton Mengle, the boy with whom she disappeared. In order to make identification a trifle easier, the blue shreds of a skirt found on her were washed by the authorities on Monday afternoon before
the mother was brought to identify the body. An investigation is being made and an inquest will likely follow.It will be remembered that Miss Hepler and Clayton Mengle of Schuylkill Haven, who was her sweetheart, disappeared at the same time, the evening of January 2, and nothing was heard of either of them until April 4th, when a boy named Noecker found the body of Mengle in the Schuylkill River just below the covered bridge, at the point where the Bast boys fell in and were drowned some years ago. Up to this time the state police and authorities all over the state had been looking for the pair and had run down more then thirty clues all
of which failed to give the police any information as to their whereabouts. It was rumored in Cressona that the girl had been seen by a policeman in Easton and later in Allentown and after this pictures of the pair were sent state wide in an effort to land them.
Shortly after the funding of the body of young Mengle, a note was found in the Schuylkill River near Reading which read as follows, "We are tired of life and have ended our miseries together. You will find both our bodies in the river." The note was found in an old bottle shaped can was corked so as to be free from rain. The boys that found it turned it over to the police in Reading and the state police in town were notified. They at once started an investigation after securing samples of the writing of both Miss Hepler and Mengel, and finally concluded that the writing was neither that of Miss Hepler nor Mengle, although both their names were signed.The case then was just as deep as ever and the police started to work over some facts that had been brought out at the inquest conducted by Coroner Moore on the evening of
April 11th. It was shown at the inquest that the Mengel boy, who was twenty one years of age, and pretty Miss Hepler, who had just passed her nineteenth birthday, were to meet in front of the hose house in Cressona, friends of the two having testified to this statement. The girl was seen to leave her girlfriends in Cressona and walk towards the Cressona road where she would reach the hose house, and likewise Mengel broke away from his chums and went to meet her. That was the last seen of either of them alive and since that time the authorities have had nothing on which to base any foundation and have been searching for the young lady, the finding of Mengle's body coming as a surprise to them. A hat belonging to the Hepler girl was found in the bushes near the railroad at Connor's Crossing and this together with other information regarding the pair, resulting in the decision
of the girl's father that the two had been hit by a train and driven into the river. A railroad crew several weeks ago also remarked that they felt they had struck someone but were never able to give out any definite information.
Pottsville Republican of July 5, 1916
HEPLER GIRL BURIED TUESDAY
After several hours investigation,. The body of the girl found in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville on Monday afternoon, was identified as that of Helen Hepler and the remains were claimed on Monday night by her parents and were taken from the almshouse to the Hepler home, from where the funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon. The identification was made through a locket which was found on her neck. W. L. McLarren of Cressona, a merchant, sold it to Helen Hepler a week before she went away, identifying it as the same one that he sold her. It had a diamond chip on the top and a large stone setting in the middle, being of an odd figure and easy to identify. When the father saw the body
he said it was not the body of his daughter and with the head not visible he was unable to identify it. He could not identify the bracelet, rings or locket as the property of his daughter although he knew she had some similar to those found on the body. He refused to claim the body and Coroner Moore sent the remains to the almshouse, from where it was taken after the father and mother were shown that the daughter had purchased this locket the week before she and Mengle left Cressona, from McLarren. The blue coat, blue skirt and red sweater were not identified by the parents although this description was given by them and other witnesses at the inquest and when the report of their disappearance was made. Coroner Moore stated on Wednesday that he would not conduct an inquest, that he was satisfied that nothing more could be learned then was brought out at the Mengle inquest. He says that in his opinion the girl and Mengel were struck by a train while on the bridge near Schuylkill Haven and that their bodies were both knocked in the river. Upon
investigation of the body Coroner Moore found that the girl's right arm was broken and that the right arm of Mengle was broken, so that is plausible that the pair were struck by the train. There are many who consider the case a deep mystery and can not understand how the pair were struck by a train and the crew did not ever learn of it or feel the jar. One crew a short time after the pair disappeared said they felt sure they struck some object and when they alighted from their train and went back to investigate, they were unable to find a trace of anyone.
Daughter of William Hepler no mother listed on death certificate # 65620
Pottsville Republican of July 3, 1916
MAY BE BODY OF HELEN HEPLER
What may be the last chapter in the famous Mengle-Hepler case turned on Monday afternoon with the finding of a body of a girl,decapitated, in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville. It is believed to be the body of Miss Helen Hepler, the fourteen year old girl whose whereabouts have been unknown since January 2. Her father was notified by Coroner Moore about 10:30 o'clock and he viewed the body which is in a badly decomposed state. He was unable to positively identify the remains although he knew she wore a blue dress similar to the shreds of the one found on her and in the river. The buttons on the dress were practically the same he said and he agreed that she wore a locket, bracelet
and ring similar to those found on the girl in the river, yet he would not positively say that it was his daughter. The mother was sent for at 2:30 o'clock and the body removed to Schuylkill Haven to await her identifying the body. Coroner Moore says that it is beyond doubt the Hepler girl and the state police are of the opinion that it is the girl being sought since January. The condition of the body and being minus the head made identification hard and the father and people who knew Helen Hepler said it looked nothing like her body.The father said that if it is his daughter, it bears out the statement made by him several weeks ago when he asserted that a train struck both his daughter and Clayton Mengle, the boy with whom she disappeared. In order to make identification a trifle easier, the blue shreds of a skirt found on her were washed by the authorities on Monday afternoon before
the mother was brought to identify the body. An investigation is being made and an inquest will likely follow.It will be remembered that Miss Hepler and Clayton Mengle of Schuylkill Haven, who was her sweetheart, disappeared at the same time, the evening of January 2, and nothing was heard of either of them until April 4th, when a boy named Noecker found the body of Mengle in the Schuylkill River just below the covered bridge, at the point where the Bast boys fell in and were drowned some years ago. Up to this time the state police and authorities all over the state had been looking for the pair and had run down more then thirty clues all
of which failed to give the police any information as to their whereabouts. It was rumored in Cressona that the girl had been seen by a policeman in Easton and later in Allentown and after this pictures of the pair were sent state wide in an effort to land them.
Shortly after the funding of the body of young Mengle, a note was found in the Schuylkill River near Reading which read as follows, "We are tired of life and have ended our miseries together. You will find both our bodies in the river." The note was found in an old bottle shaped can was corked so as to be free from rain. The boys that found it turned it over to the police in Reading and the state police in town were notified. They at once started an investigation after securing samples of the writing of both Miss Hepler and Mengel, and finally concluded that the writing was neither that of Miss Hepler nor Mengle, although both their names were signed.The case then was just as deep as ever and the police started to work over some facts that had been brought out at the inquest conducted by Coroner Moore on the evening of
April 11th. It was shown at the inquest that the Mengel boy, who was twenty one years of age, and pretty Miss Hepler, who had just passed her nineteenth birthday, were to meet in front of the hose house in Cressona, friends of the two having testified to this statement. The girl was seen to leave her girlfriends in Cressona and walk towards the Cressona road where she would reach the hose house, and likewise Mengel broke away from his chums and went to meet her. That was the last seen of either of them alive and since that time the authorities have had nothing on which to base any foundation and have been searching for the young lady, the finding of Mengle's body coming as a surprise to them. A hat belonging to the Hepler girl was found in the bushes near the railroad at Connor's Crossing and this together with other information regarding the pair, resulting in the decision
of the girl's father that the two had been hit by a train and driven into the river. A railroad crew several weeks ago also remarked that they felt they had struck someone but were never able to give out any definite information.
Pottsville Republican of July 5, 1916
HEPLER GIRL BURIED TUESDAY
After several hours investigation,. The body of the girl found in the Schuylkill River near the washery at Landingville on Monday afternoon, was identified as that of Helen Hepler and the remains were claimed on Monday night by her parents and were taken from the almshouse to the Hepler home, from where the funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon. The identification was made through a locket which was found on her neck. W. L. McLarren of Cressona, a merchant, sold it to Helen Hepler a week before she went away, identifying it as the same one that he sold her. It had a diamond chip on the top and a large stone setting in the middle, being of an odd figure and easy to identify. When the father saw the body
he said it was not the body of his daughter and with the head not visible he was unable to identify it. He could not identify the bracelet, rings or locket as the property of his daughter although he knew she had some similar to those found on the body. He refused to claim the body and Coroner Moore sent the remains to the almshouse, from where it was taken after the father and mother were shown that the daughter had purchased this locket the week before she and Mengle left Cressona, from McLarren. The blue coat, blue skirt and red sweater were not identified by the parents although this description was given by them and other witnesses at the inquest and when the report of their disappearance was made. Coroner Moore stated on Wednesday that he would not conduct an inquest, that he was satisfied that nothing more could be learned then was brought out at the Mengle inquest. He says that in his opinion the girl and Mengel were struck by a train while on the bridge near Schuylkill Haven and that their bodies were both knocked in the river. Upon
investigation of the body Coroner Moore found that the girl's right arm was broken and that the right arm of Mengle was broken, so that is plausible that the pair were struck by the train. There are many who consider the case a deep mystery and can not understand how the pair were struck by a train and the crew did not ever learn of it or feel the jar. One crew a short time after the pair disappeared said they felt sure they struck some object and when they alighted from their train and went back to investigate, they were unable to find a trace of anyone.
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