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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1963)
CC2P. GN.REF. AND UOCJi-EKTS CIV, llama Dan As for LA Weather Klimam Falls, TultUk nd Likt vwwi Variibk c(audint through Mwv dy wim a chanca of thowtrt r www flurrits Monday. HtqH today and Mon day 0 to 47. Lows tonignt 70 to 24. Variabla wind fivt tt IS milti par hour. Hrh Friday a Low Saturday morning SI High yaar ago 41 Low ytar ago 42 Prtcip. patt 24 hour ,e la The- Day's lews By FRANK JENKINS As this is written. Die FBI, working swiftly and secretly, has just broken (he Sinatra kid nap case six days after it hap pened. Three men have been arrested and most of the $240. 000 of ransom money has been recovered. That's quick work. Who did it? Well, the arrested ones are a 42-year-old house painter with long record of minor offenses, including drunk and disorderly conduct and assault and b a t tcry. A 23-year-old salesman and former high school classmate of young Frank Sinatra's sister Nancy. A former boxer with three previous arrests, one including trespassing and a minor alco hol case. How did they come to do it? As this is written, it hasn't been told. ' But it seems to be another case of misspent lives fooling around with evil or good-for-nothing characters instead of traveling the straight and nar row road and eventually getting somewhere worth getting to. It didn't pay off. Under the Lindbergh kidnaping act. they face life imprisonment. If they had harmed their victim, they could have faced the death pen alty, which a jury may recom mend if the victim of a kidnap ing is harmed. The moral of it? ' Well, if all criminals could be caught that quickly, there would be Jess crime. For two reasons. The number of evil doers would be rapidly reduced and new recruits would be pre vented from entering the crime business. It's prettv well agreed that CERTAINTY OF PUNISH MENT is the most dependable crime deterrent. What of the FBI? How did it get stalled? The Federal Bureau of Inves tigation i FBI is one of the branches of the U.S. Depart ment of Justice. Its agents track down violators of all fed eral Jaws except those which are enforced by other depart ments, such as the Treasury and the Post Office. The Bureau searches lor ene my agents and others w h o threaten Die nation's security. It also tracks down kidnapers, automobile thieves and other criminals who violate federal laws. Its agents arc given courses in law enforcement, crime detection and similar matters when they enter the de partment. igj'he FBI has a laboratory in Washington w ith complete mod ern equipment for analyzing clues scientifically. It also has fingerprint .files that contain more than 100 million sets of fingerprints. Its work is carried on through 52 field divisions in the U.S. It has a dedicated leader J. Edgar Hoover, who was named its director in 1!B4 four dec ades ago. He has developed the FBI into one of the world's most efficient law enforcement agencies. When lie came on the job. he replaced untrained men (Continued on Page 2-A) llflllli ii ' "iiiiii T Flti'il li' ft whim I j - -..-J.... f JAILED BY FBI These three men have been arrested by th FBI and charged with the kidnaping of Frank Sinatra Jr. They art (left to right) Barry Worthington Keenan, Herald attfoitas Price fifteen Cents 56 Pages Kidnapers Caught; Ransom Recovered FBI Wraps Up Case With Arrest Of Trio LOS ANGELES (UPD-The kidnaping of singer Frank Si natra Jr., was solved Saturday with the arrest of three men, apparently amateurs at major crime, and recovery of most of the $240,000 ransom. The FBI, suddenly breaking its five-day silence, announced the arrests shortly after mid night PST 13 a.m. ESTI and within three hours the suspects were arraigned, waived pre liminary hearing and jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail. LOS ANGELES (UPII-Three suspects in the Frank Sinatra Jr. kidnaping were arraigned Saturday and were advised that they face life imprisonment un der federal law, if convicted. Bail was set at $50,000 by U.S. commissioners before whom they were arraigned. Joseph Clyde Amsler and Barry VYorthbiglon Keenan. both 23, were arraigned here before U.S. Commissioner Theodore Hockc. The third suspccl, John W. Irwin, 42, was arraigned before U.S. Commissioner Betty M, Graydnn in San Diego. None of tho suspects showed any emotion when arraigned. Agents in three Southern Cal ifornia cities broke the baffling Youth Hurt Seriously In Accident Walter Killian, 20. of 5776 Har lan Drive, was transferred to a Medford hospital Saturday after noon in critical condition fol lowing a motorcycle - train ac cident near Klamath Falls. Oregon State Police said the young man was riding his 1963 Honda southbound on the Home dale Itoad Saturday at about 1:45 p.m. Approaching the rail road crossing, he was unable to stop in time and hit the side of a Great Northern locomotive which was eastbound on t h e OC&E tracks. The impact threw the rider 72 feet, seriously injuring him. He was rushed to Klamath Valley Hospital by Peace Ambulance and later transferred to Med ford. Grady Sanders, 2031 Manzan ita, was engineer of the train. Parking Ticket Finally 'Fixed' LONDON (UPD-The Auto mobile Association said Sat urday it has finally managed to gel a $5.60 ' two-pound 1 line waived that was levied against a stranger in London who got a parking ticket while he got out of his car to ask a policeman directions. KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON. case with one of the most inten sive manhunts in FBI history, seizing a painter, a one time professional boxer and a for mer high school classmate of Nancy Sinatra, the victim's sis ter. The arrests came five days after Frank Jr. was spirited at gun point from a motel room as he was about to go on stage with the Tommy Dorsey orches tra at a Lake Tahoe gambling spa. All but $24,000 of the ransom paid by his singer-actor father, Frank Sinatra Sr., for his re lease unharmed early Wednes day was recovered. The arrests apparently com pleted the roundup of the gang. At one time, as many as sev. en or nine suspects were be lieved involved in the abduction of the young singing star last Sunday. "We do not anticipate filing any additional complaints to obtain warrants of arrest in this matter," said Thomas Sher idan, the chief of criminal com plaints for the U.S. attorney's office here. The suspects were idcntilied as: John William Irwin, 42, Hol lywood, Calif., painter, who has a long arrest record for minor offenses, arrested at 9 a.m. Friday. Barry Worthinglon Keenan, 23, of Los Angeles, apprehended shortly before 11 p.m. Friday. Keenan, a vacuum cleaner sales man, is the son of wealthy Flint ridge, Calif., stockbroker John J. Keenan, who lives in a $100, 000 home. Joseph Clyde Amsler, 23, Playa Del Rcy, abalone diver and former professional boxer, seized shortly after midnight at a Culver City, Calif., apartment. Amsler and Keenan were ar raigned before a U.S. commis sioner in Los Angeles before dawn Saturday, and ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail each. Irwin was arraigned and jailed in San Diego, also in lieu of $50, 000 bond, but the FBI said he also would be brought here this weekend. Keenan's family hired an at torney immediately and began proceedings to have the suspect released. Bail can be posted w ith any licensed bondsman and presented to U.S. Commission er Theodore Hocke at his home or office for approval and au tomatic release of the prisoner, Sheridan said. Although the FBI did not comment, Irwin was suspected as the ringleader of the plot to whisk Frank Sinatra Jr. Sundny night from Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he was making an ap pearance at Harrah's Club. But physical descriptions given by Sinatra and his roommate, trum pet player John Foss, showed two men answering-the descrip tions of Keenan and Amsler carried out the abduction. The younger Sinatra was re leased for $240,000 ransom, drop ped by an FBI agent,- early Wednesday. He was not harmed. 23, John W. Irwin, 42, and Joseph Clyde Amsler, 23. All three are being held in Los Angelas on $50,000 bail. UPI Teltphoto SUNDAY. DECEMBER 15. 1963 ill 11 ' S '1 '", RANSOM RECOVERED lil iS)ilSMmag and FBI Assistant Director Joseph Caspar (second from left I show newsmen tho money recovered with the capture of three men in connection with the Frank Sinatra Jr. kidnaping. All but a fraction of the $240,000 ransom money was recovered. y , . UPI TelapWo Russians Announce Plans To Reduce Armed Forces MOSCOW UPI Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev in a speech published Saturday an nounced plans to reduce Soviet military expenditures and cut Soviet armed forces in what ap peared to be the first shot of a new offensive for general and complete disarmament. The 17 nation disarmament talks resumed next month in Geneva. The military cuts appeared to be caused by his $46.2 billion Night Openingsl For shopping convenience, most all stores will be open until 9 o'clock each night during the coming week. Johnson Hopes To Patch Relations With De Gaulle PARIS ( UPI i President Johnson has sent a personal message to French President Charles de Gaulle in an appar ent new attempt to thaw out frozen relations between the United States and France, U.S. officials disclosed Saturday night. Telephone TU 4-8111 No. 7654 . . - Chief FBI aqenl William G. seven year crash plan to revo lutionize the Soviet chemical in dustry and free Russia of the possibility of new crop failures. This year's agricultural failures led Russia to buy nearly $1 mil lion of western wheat. Khrushchev's announcement Friday to the closing session of a meeting of the full Commu nist Party Central Committee reflected the Kremlin's confi dence the Johnson administra tion would continue the Ken nedy policy of easing interna tional tensions. Khrushchev urged the West ern powers to follow suit in cut ting arms and said the boast of an actual numerical superiority of arms and armed forces over the Soviet bloc countries. West ern estimates put the Soviet The message of personal greetings will be given De Gaulle by U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk when he pays a courtesy call on the French president at noun Monday, the officials said. tt was not disclosed whether the message reiterated John son's invitation to De Gaulle to visit Washington. French offi cials have indicated De Gaulle probably would not make audi a trip during 1064. Rusk told Western Allied leaders in Paris Saturday that President Johnson favors a dip lomatic "pause" in the imme diate future and has no plans for summit talks with Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev in 11(64. American sources said Iluk brought up Che idea of a pause in a Western Big Three meet ing with British Foreign Secre tary R.A. Butler and French Foreign (Minister Maurice Couvc de Murville at tlic French Foreign Ministry. The Big Three foreign mini. Ws conferred in an effort to find a solid front lor any re newed cold war talks with the Russians and on their policies in turbulent Southeast Asia. w.-" - - yvv Wenilier LONG RANGI OUTLOOK Continuttf coo4 wit chtnct far ilww tr or mow flurrttt Monday. Might J? 10 ! IM lows lr H 11 Mil taw dyi. S A.J. Simons of Los Anaeles (left) armed forces between 2 and 2 3 million and the United Slates at 2 7 million. NATO has 5.8 mil lion men and the Warsaw pact 4.3 million. Actually Khrushchev began to cut the Soviet Union's military burden after his meeting with President Dwight D. Eiscnhow. er at Camp David in 1959 hut the U2 incident led him to dis continue the process. Saturday's announced deci sion was linked with other pro posals: General reduction of armed forces of NATO and the. War saw pact powers. Reduction of troops in West and East Germany. Recall of all foreign troops in their national frontiers. Khrushchev notably made no mention in the text published by Izveslia Saturday night of the Berlin or German problems. However Izvestia appeared on the streets five hours late and it was believed some references to international problems were pruned out. His speech said Khrushchev was making the defense cuts as an outgrowth of the relaxation of tensions following signing of the partial nuclear test ban agreement. But he warned So viet defenses remain as strong as ever and that any aggressor could be crushed. Khrushchev said the govern ment was "considering tlie pos sibility of reducing somewhat the numerical strenglh of the armed forces of the U.S.S.K." Tass said. Shooting Hours OREGON December 16 Open Clone 6:55 a.m. 4:.13 p.m. CALIFORNIA December 16 Open Close lt:17 a.m. 4:3S D.m. Many Homes And Cars Swept Away But Early Evacuation Saves Lives ' LOS ANGELES (UPI1 Mil lions of gallons of water roared into a heavily populated resi dential area Saturday when a reservoir dam burst tossing houses and automobiles like toys onto tlie crest of an unstoppa ble flood tide. At least 50 homes were re ported destroyed in (lie first few minutes after the dam broke. Hundreds of autos were seen floating in the churning waters. Police said at least four per sons were killed. A massive search was under way under the glare of spot liglits Saturday night for partly submerged cars caught when water rushed tlirough a 75-foot gap in the 70o-foot earthen wall. A warning was issued three hours before the dam burst at about 3:45 p.m., lST, saving countless lives by evacuation. Autliorities eared there would be others trapped in those cars, but confirmed only one wom an's body was taken from a submerged auto. Another death was blamed on a heart attack suffered by a resident. 1 Some residents ignored the warning and alter flood wa ters churned into their houses were left waiting helplessly for helicopters to rescue them. Helicopters from Wic police and fire dcartmeiits and from the Coast Guard Air-Sea Rescue Service flew slHittlc flights pick ing up stranded residents and taking them to safely. Joseph Quinn, city civil de fense administrator, said that iMayor Samuel Vorty declared a major disaster and ordered police on emergency duty. "This thing really looks bad 'We did everything we could," Quinii added. "We noti' tied them as soon as we discov ered the threat but I am afraid it might not have been soon enough (or everybody. We just did the best we coiud." Police reserves were talJed out and Chief William H. Park er look personal charge, setting up maps on walls to indicate wliere help was needed most. Surging waters from the 900-acre-foot Bnkhvin Jtescrvoir in the southwestern section of the city crumpled homes and swept automobiles and trees in its path. The concrete dam showed a three-foot wide break in mid- afternoon and in five minutes tlie entire barrier crumbled. At least 50 homes were re ported destroyed as the waters flooded the entire area contain ing about 1,000 homes. Most of the residents" had been evacuated by police when (lie leak was discovered about noon. Outlet piiK's were opened into flood control channels and the water Jevel went down about two feet but this was not suffi cient to relieve pressure on the dam. Department of water and liower officials asked police to order the evacuation because the leak was at tlie base of the dam where it was subject to most pressure. Department officials said it would take 24 hours to empty the reservoir by normal means. Water from the dam rolled in waves as high as 30 feet when the entire 75-foot barricade burst. The dam, built 20 years ago, was earthen-filled concrete shell ' r - ;V - v . i r- ( ; ' FIRST PRIZE Falcon Heights Elementary School sixth grade students took first place in the Christmas window painting contest, sponsored by the merchants of tho Town and Country Shopping Center this year. Mrs. Elnor Andorson is tho teacher. Si 9 designed to store water for drinking purposes. Mlien full, it held approxi mately 292,500,000 gallons of water. The danger of fire was mini mized because of the water, but there were some hazards from sparks as high power lines dropped on telephone lines. Per sons as a precaution in the spe- Eyewitnesses Recall Suddenness Of It All LOS ANGELES lUPU-For persons trapped in tlie path of tlie torrent unleashed when the eservoir dam collapsed Satur day, the deluge swept down with unbclieveable i4eed. Mrs. Eileen Stockton was res cued by helicopter after she ivas caught by water four feet deep. "I know it happened in a hur ry, slio said. I was just get ting in my car to leave my house. The water came rushing down the driveway, and tlien it was too late. I tried to run around the garage and get away from the water but it just engulfed me." Slie said site grabbed a patio fence and luuig onto it until tlie helicopter picked her up. She said the water swirling about her was lour feet deep. The copter brought the mud covered woman to the home of Sam Belknap on a hill near and slightly above the reservoir. Belknap had seen the dam give way: "It started at tlie bottom and kept gelling larger and larger eroding nway toward the top. Then the blauktop road surrounding the reservoir gave way. Tllien tlie reservoir itself collapsed. Assistant Fire Chief Forrest V. Moore of tlie Los Angeles Fire Department said the roar ing water out "a swath of de struction 100 to 200 feet wide, below the reservoir." Autos are piled on top of each other and we believe as many as several hundred homes have been destroyed," Moore said. "We started through into the area wliere tho water was highest, but before we got there Falcon Heights 6th Grade Claims Christmas Contest (Mure pictures on Page 4A) Falcon Heights Elementary School sixth grade, taught by Mrs. Elnor Anderson, took first prize in the 19(13 Christmas win dow contest, sponsored by the merchants of Town and Coun try Shopping Center. Grades fourth through sixth competed at Falcon Heights. One hundred dollars in cash prizes were awarded to sever al schools with winning w i n dows. Second place in the fourth through sixth division, Linda Pe terson, teacher, also went to a Falcon Heights sixth grade; third went to Peterson School, Ruth Graham, teacher. Honor v i ,j . . it a. ' . ' cifie area were asked to avoid touching tlie telephone for fear of electrocution. At one time the water and mud was eight to ten feet deep. Swimming pools were filled with mud, and some broken open. 1 ; Some of tlie homes were on terraced lots climbing the hill. Even foundations were swipt away. ' people were screaming for help. "So we came back and sent the helicopters in to get them out," Moore said. Police Inspector Ed Walker said, "It would have been a real serious tragedy it there hadn't been any warning." Tin Miners To Release 21 Hostages LA PAZ, Bolivia tUPD Leftist Vice President Juan Lcchin, spokesman and leader of pro-Communist miners who have held 21 hostages including four Americans lor a week, bow ed to the threat of federal force Saturday and announced the hostages will be freed "to avoid a bloodbath." Federal troops early Saturday encircled Catavf, where the hos tages are held, and the accom panying mine site of Siglo Veintc. The hostages have been held as pawns for the release of two Communist labor lead ers. Lcchin announced the miners have accepted the demands of President Victor Paz Estens soro to free the hostages from their dynamite - mined impro vised prison. Lechin did not say when tlie hostages will be freed. able mentions went to Altamont, fourth grade, Mrs. A. C. Olson, teacher and Altamont, s ix t h grade, John Hcilbronner, teach er. In division one tlirough three, first place was a tie between third grades of Altamont and Falcon Heights. Peterson School took all places in independent posters as follows: First, Teresa Schmidt and Dixie Backa, sixth grade; Ellen Lynn' Heaton, Wayne Heaton, fourth grade; third, Mr. Peterson's fifth grade class. Honorable mention went to Kerri Johnson, second grade, Fairhavcn eighth grade and Peterson seventh grade.
