It was April 28, 1950 and the three woodcutter were in their shack in the bush near Amesdale. They had been drinking all afternoon, and as evening came they realized that they had nothing to eat in the shack.
They walked to Amesdale and knocked on the door of Gordon Ames’ General Store. It was after hours however, and he store was locked for the night. The men forced their way into the store and began to help themselves to the stock. One of them cut a large chunk of hard cheese and began to eat it. After several bites he tossed the remainder aside. The men left taking over $50 worth of food and cigarettes, and returned to their shack in the woods.
When Ames arrived the next morning and found the break-in, he immediately phoned for the police. A constable arrived shortly and began to examine the crime scene for clues.
Coming across the partly eaten chunk of cheese, he observed that it contained a very visible set of teeth prints. Returning to Dryden, he went to Dutton, the local dentist and had him take a mold of the teeth marks. Dutton then gave the police a description of what sort of teeth they should look for.
Arriving back in Amesdale the next day, several suspects were approached, and soon one was found with teeth that seemed to match the dentist’s description. The man was taken into custody and directly to the dentist office in Dryden. Dutton took and impression of the suspect’s teeth, and when compared to the cheese bite, the match was obvious. The accused confessed the crime and named his accomplices. They were arrested and all soon came before the magistrate. In the annuls of crime perpetrated within our district, this one perhaps should be known as ‘The case of the chomped cheese’.
By Gerrie Nobel and the Dryden & District Historical Society
Dryden Observer September 10, 2003
No comments:
Post a Comment