The Salt Lake Tribune
Sunday, August 25, 1957
SEA OF MUD SMOTHERS THREE SISTERS
Dixon, Ill., Aug. 24 - The bodies of three small sisters were found Saturday on a quarry bottom, apparently killed by a load of earth dumped on them by one of their father's workmen.
Nancy, 10, Theresa, 8, and Ruthie, 9, daughters of John and Ruth Guernsey, were found in a circle under a mound of fill-in clay that had been poured into the quarry by an earth-moving firm for which their father is a foreman.
The girls, missing since Wednesday afternoon, were spotted under the glare of floodlights in the pre-dawn after workers shoveled against a sea of mud for almost six hours.
A pathologist's report said they had died of suffocation. In addition, it showed that Ruthie suffered a skull fracture and Theresa a broken neck.
The Guernseys have five other children ranging in age from 11 years to six months.
State's attorney John Bales, who ordered the search of the abandoned quarry, said that foul play "was out of the question."
He said the girls probably walked the half mile from their home to the 50-foot deep quarry Wednesday afternoon and decided to climb down near a hollow or cave on the bottom.
Bales said a workman in a bulldozer apparently pushed a load of fill near that point, either striking the girls directly or causing a slide of earth that buried them.
The fill operation is being done by the H. Turner Co., a firm owned by Guernsey's father-in-law. Guernsey is employed as a foreman on the project which has been underway for six weeks.
Sunday, August 25, 1957
SEA OF MUD SMOTHERS THREE SISTERS
Dixon, Ill., Aug. 24 - The bodies of three small sisters were found Saturday on a quarry bottom, apparently killed by a load of earth dumped on them by one of their father's workmen.
Nancy, 10, Theresa, 8, and Ruthie, 9, daughters of John and Ruth Guernsey, were found in a circle under a mound of fill-in clay that had been poured into the quarry by an earth-moving firm for which their father is a foreman.
The girls, missing since Wednesday afternoon, were spotted under the glare of floodlights in the pre-dawn after workers shoveled against a sea of mud for almost six hours.
A pathologist's report said they had died of suffocation. In addition, it showed that Ruthie suffered a skull fracture and Theresa a broken neck.
The Guernseys have five other children ranging in age from 11 years to six months.
State's attorney John Bales, who ordered the search of the abandoned quarry, said that foul play "was out of the question."
He said the girls probably walked the half mile from their home to the 50-foot deep quarry Wednesday afternoon and decided to climb down near a hollow or cave on the bottom.
Bales said a workman in a bulldozer apparently pushed a load of fill near that point, either striking the girls directly or causing a slide of earth that buried them.
The fill operation is being done by the H. Turner Co., a firm owned by Guernsey's father-in-law. Guernsey is employed as a foreman on the project which has been underway for six weeks.
The Salt Lake Tribune
Sunday, August 25, 1957
SEA OF MUD SMOTHERS THREE SISTERS
Dixon, Ill., Aug. 24 - The bodies of three small sisters were found Saturday on a quarry bottom, apparently killed by a load of earth dumped on them by one of their father's workmen.
Nancy, 10, Theresa, 8, and Ruthie, 9, daughters of John and Ruth Guernsey, were found in a circle under a mound of fill-in clay that had been poured into the quarry by an earth-moving firm for which their father is a foreman.
The girls, missing since Wednesday afternoon, were spotted under the glare of floodlights in the pre-dawn after workers shoveled against a sea of mud for almost six hours.
A pathologist's report said they had died of suffocation. In addition, it showed that Ruthie suffered a skull fracture and Theresa a broken neck.
The Guernseys have five other children ranging in age from 11 years to six months.
State's attorney John Bales, who ordered the search of the abandoned quarry, said that foul play "was out of the question."
He said the girls probably walked the half mile from their home to the 50-foot deep quarry Wednesday afternoon and decided to climb down near a hollow or cave on the bottom.
Bales said a workman in a bulldozer apparently pushed a load of fill near that point, either striking the girls directly or causing a slide of earth that buried them.
The fill operation is being done by the H. Turner Co., a firm owned by Guernsey's father-in-law. Guernsey is employed as a foreman on the project which has been underway for six weeks.
Sunday, August 25, 1957
SEA OF MUD SMOTHERS THREE SISTERS
Dixon, Ill., Aug. 24 - The bodies of three small sisters were found Saturday on a quarry bottom, apparently killed by a load of earth dumped on them by one of their father's workmen.
Nancy, 10, Theresa, 8, and Ruthie, 9, daughters of John and Ruth Guernsey, were found in a circle under a mound of fill-in clay that had been poured into the quarry by an earth-moving firm for which their father is a foreman.
The girls, missing since Wednesday afternoon, were spotted under the glare of floodlights in the pre-dawn after workers shoveled against a sea of mud for almost six hours.
A pathologist's report said they had died of suffocation. In addition, it showed that Ruthie suffered a skull fracture and Theresa a broken neck.
The Guernseys have five other children ranging in age from 11 years to six months.
State's attorney John Bales, who ordered the search of the abandoned quarry, said that foul play "was out of the question."
He said the girls probably walked the half mile from their home to the 50-foot deep quarry Wednesday afternoon and decided to climb down near a hollow or cave on the bottom.
Bales said a workman in a bulldozer apparently pushed a load of fill near that point, either striking the girls directly or causing a slide of earth that buried them.
The fill operation is being done by the H. Turner Co., a firm owned by Guernsey's father-in-law. Guernsey is employed as a foreman on the project which has been underway for six weeks.
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