A group of three detectives parked their automobile about a mile and a half away from the Puntenney lime mine near Cedar Glade (present day Drake) and began to walk toward the office. It seemed a long way to trudge, but they wanted their story to be believable.
“Our car broke down,” one of them told the office manager. “What kind of mine do you have here? May we look around while we wait for help?” The three began to feign interest in the operations as they set about to look for their real objective—an 11-year-old boy named Willie.
One of the detectives peered into a building and spied the youngster. The three men left, but that would hardly be the end of it. They were plotting to steal William Hurd Barrett for the third time in less than a year.
