The Sylvester Family of Plainview, Minnesota*

News of Edwin Sylvester's arrest spreads; hundreds of leads had been followed

January 30, 1926

PAGE 176

Meantime this afternoon in Winona, Mrs. Sylvester, wife of the arrested fugitive, will appear before a hearing in United States bankruptcy court here, in her attempt to obtain administration of the property of the banker normally exempt.
Reporters sent by the Republican-Herald to Mrs. Sylvester’s apartment at 3146 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis learned from the janitor that she had left for Winona this morning.
The news of Sylvester’s arrest traveled over the territory like wildfire today. Senator James A. Carley and C. L. Mikkelson, who were in Winona for the bankruptcy hearing this afternoon, were the first residents of Plainview to get the news. The wires have been busy all morning carrying messages to various sections of the territory.
"It’s great work," Senator Carley stated.

Disappearance Baffling
The mystery of Sylvester’s disappearance has been a baffling one. He apparently had dropped out of the world completely. In County Attorney Foley’s office at Wabasha is a file telling of the search. It contains hundreds of reports from detectives who have been watching the Sylvester family and of the running down of rumors from almost every corner of the world.
The investigation at one time last summer was extended to Paris, France. The government agencies have been co-operating extensively. Secret reports signed only by the initials of the operators hare contained in the files.
May hundreds letters have gone out from the county attorney’s office to various parts of the United States. Automobiles have been employed by Burns workers in following the Sylvester family members for weeks. It has undoubtedly been the greatest man hunt in the history of southern Minnesota.
Governor Receives Letter
It was revealed at St. Paul today that on January 2 Governor Theodore Christianson received a letter from G. W. Hoffstetter of Biloxi, Miss., near Gulfport, in which Hoffstetter asked about further information concerning Sylvester. The letter recited that the writer thought he had seen Sylvester in that vicinity. The governor forwarded the letter to County Attorney Foley at Wabasha, but whether this played any part in Sylvester’s capture is not known. After Sylvester’s disappearance, the state offered a reward of $500 for the banker’s apprehension and subsequently Wabasha county announced a similar reward. Governor Christianson announced that he will issue requisition papers to the Wabasha County attorney, John R. Foley, for the return of E. L. Sylvester. The Wabasha attorney was to appear before the governor late today. (NOTE: Article continued on another page that was not among the clipping.)
SYLVESTER CASE IN CHRONOLOGY
Feb. 28 – Edwin L. Sylvester bid family goodbye and leaves Plainview on evening train.
March 4 – Plainview State Bank, of which Sylvester was president, voluntarily closes. Bank examiners begin work.
March 5 – Authorities seek Sylvester arrest for embezzlement.
March 7 – Sylvester traced to Chicago.
March 9 – Warrant issued for Sylvester on embezzlement charge. Shortage placed at $45,000.
March 10 – Wabasha County authorities launch nation-wide search for Sylvester.
March 13 – Unidentified man killed near Lanesboro, not Sylvester. (NOTE: Dr. Slocumb and dentist Dr. E. E. Smith were sent to look at the remains.) Authorities announce that bank irregularities extend over 18 years.
March 19 – Double of Sylvester found near Madison, Wis.

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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."