On January 30, 1909, a young man from Knox, North Dakota disappeared. Frank Sherwin was working as a cashier for the American Express Company in Duluth, Minnesota. His family, friends, and employer were baffled. Some thought the young man might have used his position to embezzle money, but George Kennedy, the manager of the American Express office, said the books always balanced, and he considered Frank Sherwin entirely trustworthy.
After several weeks of searching, it seemed as though the mystery would never be solved. Frank had left no clues behind, and he had vanished after an ordinary Saturday evening. He had balanced his books as usual and drew his salary. There seemed to be nothing strange as he left the office. But as the Evening Times of Grand Forks noted, “he dropped out of sight as completely as if he had been swallowed by the lake.”
Frank's lodgings were in the rear of the office, and his personal belongings were all in order. Nothing was disturbed. It was apparent he left with only the clothes on his back and his salary in his pocket.
The police and Frank’s friends searched across Minnesota and North Dakota, but found no clues. Frank’s elderly father traveled from North Dakota to search in Duluth, but turned up nothing. Then on this date in 1909, Frank’s boss received a letter informing him that the missing man was living in Colorado.
Frank wrote, “I could not have been just right when I left Duluth.” He explained that his arrival in Denver was entirely accidental. He was on a train and had been on the train for a long time when he came to his senses. He got off in Denver simply because he was tired of the journey. The newspaper explained that Frank simply made a mistake when “something clogged his mental machinery.”
Frank expressed regret for the worry he caused. His family and friends were still puzzled about the mental lapse, but they were happy to learn that he was alive and well.
Dakota Datebook by Carole Butcher
Source:
The Evening Times. “Miss Knox Boy is Found in Denver.” Grand Forks ND. 3/18/1909. Page 6.
