Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 Was Victim of Murder Lured Off on Joy Ride Before She Met Death?

Evidence gathered by Detectives Black and Rosser on Monday afternoon has led the detective department to suspect that Mary Phagan was lured away by her killer on Saturday afternoon under the promise of a joy ride, during which she may have been drugged or made drunk with whisky.

This new development came from R. B. Pyron, a telegraph operator at the signal tower on the Central of Georgia Railroad at the Whitehall Street crossing.

Pyron told detectives Monday afternoon that at around 10 o'clock Saturday night he was standing at the entrance to the signal tower when an automobile came from the direction of West End and stopped on Whitehall Street just after crossing the railroad tracks.

Sobbing and Pleading

In the rear seat he observed a young girl matching the description of Mary Phagan. She was sobbing and pleading while a man seated beside her and another man standing on the running board spoke to her earnestly, apparently trying to calm her down. A third man sat behind the steering wheel.

"I see many machines pass here of course and never pay any attention to them," said Pyron. "But the fact that a young girl was alone in an automobile with three men and was crying and apparently in trouble struck me as so unusual that when the machine stopped I started moving toward it to investigate. As soon as the occupants saw me they started the machine again and disappeared in the direction of the city."

"I had thought about it several times since but not seriously until I read in the papers of the murder of Mary Phagan, whose description tallies with that of the girl I saw."

Pyron stated that he did not believe he would be able to identify any of the occupants if he were to see them again.

Man on the Running Board

The only description he could offer was of the man standing on the running board, whom he described as slender and of medium height, wearing a dark suit and a low crowned straw hat.

The car, he said, appeared to be a five passenger touring car and was black in color.

By late Monday night detectives had been unable to identify the vehicle or any of its occupants.

Pyron added that the girl appeared hysterical and gave every indication of being either drunk or drugged.