Belle is Missing
Another Pretty Girl Mysteriously Disappears
Hamilton Evening Journal Hamilton, Ohio, 11 May 1892, Wed • Page 1
Gallipolis, Ohio, May 11-Miss Della Wilks, a pretty eighteen-year-old girl of Athalia, yesterday morning mysteriously disappeared from her home. Miss Wilks had a lover named Levi Edward of that place, and it is thought he has enticed her away.
Before her departure, she wrote her mother the following note: “Dear Mother: My conscience tells me that I have given you enough trouble. I will leave you, and you will never see me again. Don’t grieve after me. Goodbye.”
A telegram received from Edwards says he knows nothing of her. Mr. and Mrs. Wilks fear their daughter has committed suicide.
“POOR BELLE, I Can’t Find Her Anywhere.” The Despairing Cry of a Grief-Stricken Mother. No Tidings Yet of Missing Miss Belle Wilks, of Athalia, Ohio.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, 12 May 1892, Thu • Page 5
It is almost a settled fact that the missing girl, Miss Belle Wilks, whose remarkably mysterious disappearance from her home in Lawrence County was chronicled in yesterday’s Enquirer, is not in this city.
Her lover, Levi Edwards, who is employed here, has left his place of employment and has returned to his old home to assist in the search for the girl, if alive, and for her body, if dead.
The police discovered this much. who yesterday gave their attention to the peculiar case in the hope of coming across a clue that would lead to the whereabouts of the poor girl.
At her home at Athalia, the excitement has increased to a wonderful degree, and the whole countryside is out searching for her, the latest theory being that she has followed in the footsteps of the lamented Myrtle Sturtevant and drowned herself during a fit of pique. The following dispatch from a special correspondent tells the happenings of yesterday in the little village in Lawrence County:
Searching the Woods
Special Dispatch to the Enquirer, Gallipolis, Ohio. May 11-“I’ve searched everywhere and can not find poor Belle.”
These were the despairing words of heartbroken Mrs. Wilks as she sank exhausted in a chair at her home this evening. No trace or clew [sic] of the whereabouts of Miss Belle Wilks. who so mysteriously disappeared from her home in Athalia, Lawrence County.
And an account of whose sudden disappearance was given in today’s Enquirer has been found. Searching parties are scouring the woods in that vicinity and are dragging Wolf Creek, three miles from Athalia, anticipating the finding of the despondent girl’s body.
As soon as Levi Edwards, the missing girl’s lover, learns of the sad intelligence, he comes to Athalia and is now assisting in the search. Edwards denied ever quarreling with Miss Wilks and said they always got along nicely together.
Mrs. Wilks is confined to her bed and is said to be in a precarious condition. Through her beauty and vivacity, Miss Belle made many friends and was a general favorite in Athalia’s society. Since last Monday, the whereabouts of Miss Wilks has been unknown and are a deep mystery.
Mr. Wilks said he would give all he possessed if he only knew where his daughter was. He also said he had no idea that Belle was going, although there was some trivial difficulty between Belle and her mother, and probably some angry words passed.
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