The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota*

Edwin Sylvester arrested in Mississippi after nationwide search

January 15, 1926 - January 30, 1926

PAGE 175

The Plainview State Bank has not yet declared any payments to the depositors.
Mr. Mikkelson’s condition has greatly improved although he is not yet able to resume his work here.
January 30, 1926- The Winona Republican-Herald

E. L. SYLVESTER ARRESTED
FUGITIVE BANK PRESIDENT FOUND AT GULFPORT, MISS.;
IDENTIFICATION ADMITTED
Capture Not Surprise to Authorities
Suspected Man Watched for Weeks
Located after 11 Months Nationwide Search
Traced Through Circulars With Photograph and Communication With Family
Wife in Winona Today for Bankruptcy Hearing
Edwin L. Sylvester was arrested at Gulfport, Miss., late yesterday. A telegram reading "Sylvester arrested. Admits identification" was received by Sheriff Anna Fitzgerald at midnight last night. County Attorney John R. Foley of Wabasha announced today.
The arrest came as the climax of an international manhunt extending over 11 months. Sylvester disappeared from Plainview, Minn., Feb. 28, 1925, three days before the shortage in the funds of the bank totaling more than $200,000 according to C. L. Mikkelson, receiver of the bank, has since developed.
Watched for Weeks
The arrest of Sylvester was not a surprise to Wabasha County authorities. It had been expected for a week by County Attorney Foley, who has been in touch with Mississippi authorities for some time. Foley today refused to disclose where the information leading to the fugitive’s arrest had come from, although he admitted that he had expected the arrest hourly for the past week.
"I cannot tell how we obtained our information except to say that his arrest was effected by circularizing the country and keeping watch on his family," he said.
"I wired the sheriff at Gulfport Friday to arrest the man we believed was Sylvester and there is no doubt in my mind that it is Sylvester, for my wire stated that he had admitted that he is the Plainview man. This search has cost Wabasha county about $2,000."
Communicated With Family
Mr. Foley admitted that Sylvester had communicated with his family at various times and the inference is that it was through this communication that the county attorney was able to trace the elderly banker to Mississippi.
Foley, accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Ed Fitzgerald, will leave tonight for Gulfport to return the fugitive to Wabasha.
Details of his arrest were not contained in the telegram. Gulfport is a city of 5,000 inhabitants located near Biloxi, Miss., a winter resort city of 15,000. It is in Harrison county. The country back of the city is undeveloped. The city of Gulfport is mainly a seaport on the Gulf of Mexico and a shipping point.
What Sylvester was doing there and how he happened to be in that section of the United States is still a mystery that will not be solved until Wabasha county authorities reach the city.
Wabasha county authorities have wired the sheriff of Harrison County to hold the prisoner and not permit him to give out any statements until they arrive, which will be about Monday noon. The trip, according to railroad ticket agents, requires about 30 hours.
Wife in Winona

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* SOURCE: Manzow, Ron (compiler), "The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota - a collection of information taken from the Plainview News, other newspapers, letters, and diaries beginning in 1884": Plainview Area History Center, 40 4th St. S.W., Plainview, MN 55964. Compiled in 2001.

NOTE: from Ron Manzow, December 2001: "Feel free to reproduce the pages for anyone who wants a copy. It was compiled to be shared... All I ask is that they consider sending a check to the [Plainview Area] History Center to help us out. That should be enough."