 Sweetwater Reporter
(Sweetwater, Texas) July 2, 1946 SEARCH CONTINUES Officers are still searching for in the Sherman area for Mrs. N.O. Kreater, 80-year-old, who disappeared 10 day ago after she withdrew between $8,000 and $9,000 from a Sherman bank. Thursday, August 8, 1946 The body of an elderly woman found in an abandoned well near Perrin Field yesterday has been positively identified as that of 81-year-old Mrs. N.O. Kreager of Sherman. She had been missing from her home for more than seven weeks.  Denton Record-Chronicle Denton, Texas Wednesday July 3, 1946 DISAPPEARANCE OF WOMAN BEFORE JURY Sherman, July 2 - (AP) - County Attorney Olan R. VanZant said today the county grand jury has begun investigation of the mysterious disappearance June 17 of Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 80. Mrs. Kreager, active despite her age, cashed a check in a local bank 16 days ago and disappeared with approximately $9,000 in her purse. She has not been seen since. Her bags and clothing are still in her home here. Her son, John Kreager, Sherman businessman, and other members of the family said they might ask the Boy Scouts and other volunteers to search the countryside and back roads for some trace of her. Amarillo Daily News Amarillo, Texas Monday July 8, 1946 pg 7 Rangers Search For Aged Woman Sherman, July 7 (AP) - Texas Rangers have been requested to aid in the investigation of the mysterious June 17 disappearance of Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 80 years old, County Atty. Olan R. Van Zandt said today. The request for assistance came after firemen failed to find a body in Lake Texoma after a fisherman had reported overhearing boatmen lowering "something with feet" into the water four days after Mrs. Kreager's disappearance. Van Zandt said, however, that plans are being made to drag another unnamed small lake tomorrow. Meanwhile, John Kreager, Sherman business man, has offered a $500 reward for information pertaining to his mother. Mrs. Kreager disappeared shortly after drawing about $8,000 from a local bank. A Sherman druggist reported overhearing the woman in a telephone conversation regarding a real estate purchase. The Grayson grand jury this week questioned 25 person in connection with the case, Van Zandt said. Amarillo Daily News Amarillo, Texas Tuesday, July 9, 1946 pg 11 Kreager Sons Offer Reward Sherman, July 8 (U.P) - A reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 80 years old, missing since June 14, has been posted by her two sons, John and D. J. Kreager of Sherman. Meanwhile County Attorney Olan Van Zandt announced that he has asked the Texas Rangers in on the case after police and firemen had dragged the waters of Lake Texoma without success in their search for the woman's body. A report that "something with feet" was seen dumped into the lake a few days after the woman had been reported missing prompted the search there. Still unexplained is the report to police by the two office employees of Sherman that they talked with Mrs. Kreager four days after she was reported missing. She reportedly withdrew between $8,000 and $9,000 from a Sherman bank June 14. The Courier-Gazette McKinney, Texas Thursday August 8, 1946 pg 1 BODY AGED SHERMANITE IS IDENTIFIED Sherman, Texas - Positive identification of a badly decomposed body of an aged woman as that of Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 81-year-old Shermanite missing for the last eight weeks, was made Wednesday afternoon by two of her sons, Willis Kreager of Gainesville and John Kreager of Sherman. The body of the woman who disappeared June 17 with nearly $9,000 in her possession, was discovered Wednesday in an old dry well on an unoccupied farm south of Perrin Field, northwest of Sherman. Willis Kreager, minister of the Gainesville Church of Christ, identified the body through a missing toe on the left foot and by fingers on both hands. County Attorney Olan Van Zandt requested the aid of the Texas Department of Public Safety at Austin, which is sending a specialist in criminology to Sherman to work with the officers. The body was found by two farmers, James C. Neely and Willis D. Benedict, who reside south of Perrin Field. They were looking for a missing cow belonging to Neely. Indications were the body was saturated with lime before being thrown into the well. Sheriff G. P. Gafford said. A wooden lid to the well rested on the body and partly obscured it from view. Justice of the Peace Charles Stamps is conducting a coroner's investigation and may render a verdict today. State, county and city officers had been investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Kreager since June 17, when she was reported last seen leaving the Grayson County State Bank in Sherman after cashing a cashier's check for $8,300. Sons and daughters of Mrs. Kreager, in addition to Willis and John, a Sherman Businessman, are Barney C. Kreager, San Antonio; D. J. Kreager, Marshall, Ill; Jim T. Kreager, Compton, Calif.; Mrs. Ernest Millsap and Mrs. Everett Knox, Sherman; Mrs. Thadius Bookout, Dallas, and Mrs. Orlena Hooker, Popular Bluff. Mo.  Corsican, Texas Friday August 9, 1946 pg 1 SEEK DEATH DATA Sherman, Aug. 9 - (AP) - County Attorney Olan Van Zandt said today that Mrs. N. O. Kreager may have had more than $12,000 in cash on her person when she disappeared on June 17. Her partly decomposed body was found in a dry well seven miles north of here Wednesday. Officers investigating the case, Van Zandt said, had learned that Mrs. Kreager, who lived frugally in a modest home and had made numerous contributions to churches in Grayson county, carried "several thousand" dollars in a money belt. He estimated it amounted to $3,000. Officers also learned, he said, that on the day she disappeared that Mrs. Kreager cashed a cashier's check for $8,344, saying she intended to buy a house. Van Zandt said that Mrs. Thad Bookout, Dallas, a daughter said her mother had a "large sum of money" in a belt about her wait, during a visit to Mrs. Bookout's home two weeks before her disappearance. ________ Sherman, Aug. 8. (AP) - County Attorney Ola Van Zandt said today that he was seeking a white man believed to have information about the person or persons who killed Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 80, whose body was found in an abandoned well Wednesday. The Denison Press August 9, 1946 pg.1 PROBE WELL MURDER OF MRS. KREAGER Hot Trail Expected Early Date What is expected to be a hot trail is to be opened up in a few hours, officers believe in the well murder of Mrs. N.O. Kreader, aged widow who was lured by two men and $9,000 stolen from her, the woman's body after being murdered and covered with lime, was found cast into an abandoned well near Perrin Field. The officers, aided by every arm of science, are spending every waking hour in tracing down every lead and it is thought that enough of the tracks have been left by the guilty parties to lead the officers to them. The widow was lured by the ruse of buying a home and drew $9,000 from her bank account at the time, bankers state, making the statement that she was to invest the money in a home. That was June 21st. She became the object of an extensive search for days and by chance her body was found in an abandoned well when two men were looking for a stray cow, chanced to look into the old well. The body was found Aug. 7, nearly two months later, in a badly decomposed condition. Several thousand dollars have been offered as reward for the finding of the body and the apprehension of the guilty parties. Citizens of this section are aroused as never before over the crime and feelings are high all over North Texas. Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light Corsicana, Texas Friday August 9, 1946 pg 1 OUTCOME OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS AWAITED FOR ANSWER TO AGED SHERMAN WOMAN'S DEATH CASE Sherman, Aug. 8 - (UP) - Grayson county officers today awaited laboratory reports in their efforts to solve the slaying of Mrs. N. O. Kreager. The body of the 80-year0old Sherman woman, who had been missing since June 17, was found yesterday in a shallow well on an unoccupied farm near here. Two chemists and two X-ray experts from the Department of Public Safety at Austin were called in on the case. From their examination of the lime-saturated body Sheriff G. P. Gafford said it was hoped to determine how Mrs. Kreager was killed. The officer theorized that Mrs. Kreager was slain somewhere else and her body later thrown into the dry well. He said indications were that a large quantity of lime was dumped on top of it. Two sons, John Kreager Sherman feed-seed store owner, and Willis Kreager, Church of Christ Minister at Gainesville, identified the body as that of their mother yesterday. Mrs. Kreager was last seen alive on June 17 after she had cashed a check for approximately $8,300 with the explanation that she was going to buy a house. ______ Son Lived Here. One of Mrs. Kreager's sons, Jim T. Kreager, Compton Calif., formerly resided in Corsicana and operated the Gulf service station at the intersection of West Seventh avenue and South Fifteenth street for several years. The Denison Press August 9, 1946 pg.1 PROBE WELL MURDER OF MRS. KREAGER Hot Trail Expected Early Date What is expected to be a hot trail is to be opened up in a few hours, officers believe in the well murder of Mrs. N.O. Kreager, aged widow who was lured by two men and $9,000 stolen from her, the woman's body after being murdered and covered with lime, was found cast into an abandoned well near Perrin Field. The officers, aided by every arm of science, are spending every waking hour in tracing down every lead and it is thought that enough of the tracks have been left by the guilty parties to lead the officers to them. The widow was lured by the ruse of buying a home and drew $9,000 from her bank account at the time, bankers state, making the statement that she was to invest the money in a home. That was June 21st. She became the object of an extensive search for days and by chance her body was found in an abandoned well when two men were looking for a stray cow, chanced to look into the old well. The body was found Aug. 7, nearly two months later, in a badly decomposed condition. Several thousand dollars have been offered as reward for the finding of the body and the apprehension of the guilty parties. Citizens of this section are aroused as never before over the crime and feelings are high all over North Texas.  Harlingen, Texas Saturday, August 10, 1946 pg 7 Clues Still Sought In Kreager Slaying Sherman (AP) - Services were held Friday for Mrs. N. O. Kreager, whose partly decomposed body was found in a dry well nine miles north of here Wednesday. Meanwhile County Attorney Olan Van Zandt expressed the belief that the 82-year-old grandmother, who lived frugally in a modest home and who had made many contributions to church in Grayson county, may have had $12,000 in cash on her person when she disappeared June 17. Officers investigating the case, Van Zandt said, learned that Mrs. Kreager carried "several thousand" dollars in a money belt. The estimated it amounted to $3,000. He also said that on the say she disappeared Mrs. Kreager chased a check for $8,344, saying that she intended to buy a house. The county attorney said that he was convinced Mrs. Kreager was killed before she was placed in the well. He said he was looking for a white man believed to have information about the person or persons who killed her. The man was not otherwise identified. Corsicans Daily Sun Corsicana, Texas Monday August 12, 1946 pg 1 Fortune Teller Tip Discounted In Aged Woman's Slaying Sherman, Aug. 12. - (AP) - County Attorney Olan R. Van Zandt said today that the story of a Denison fortune teller's reading in the cards of the location of the body of Mrs. N. O. Kreager has been discarded as having no relation to the slaying of the 82-year-old woman. The fortune teller and a Denison man to whom she told the story, were released after questions, Van Zandt said. The Denison man was arrested Saturday night after a three-day search. He had been arrested July 5 for intoxication. Police found a note in his possession giving the location of Mrs. Kreager's body as "read" to him from the cards by the fortune teller. Mrs. Kreager's lime-covered body was found Aug. 7 in an abandoned well near Sherman, only a short distance from the fortune teller's prediction. Mrs. Kreager disappeared June 17, from her Sherman home after withdrawing approximately $9,000 from a bank. Texas Ranger R. L. Badgett of Greenville, and two Fort Worth homicide experts are now assisting Sheriff G. P. Gafford on the case. The Waco News-Tribune Waco, Texas Wednesday, August 14, 1946 pg 9 Blood in Soil of Well Where Body was Found Sherman, Aug. 13 - AP - State Toxicologist J. H. Arnette said today in a preliminary report that Mrs. N. O. Kreager, 82, was either thrown into an abandoned well a few hours after she was slain or that she was dropped into the hole while still alive and died of a fractured neck. He told County Attorney Olan R. Van Zandt that laboratory tests revealed that there was blood in the soil samples taken from the dry well. The body was found Aug. 7 after Mrs. Kreager had been missing from her Sherman home since June 17. The Whitewright Sun Whitewright, Texas Thursday August 22, 1946 pg 4 Sherman - A reward of $1,000 offered for information revealing the fate of Mrs. N. O. Kreager when she disappeared here, was paid Monday to Willis D. Benedict and James C. Neely, farmers who found her body in a shallow well Aug 7. She had been slain. The check was paid the two farmers by John Kreager, Mrs. Ernest Millsap and Mrs. Harbert D. Hooker, son and daughters of the dead woman. Ranger R. L. Badgett in charge of the investigation, said Monday there was "nothing new" in the case. The Denison Press Tuesday, December 23, 1947 pg. 1 TWO MURDERS OF OLD YEAR STILL TO BE UNRAVELLED The end of the old year 1947 will run down the curtain on 2 unsolved murders in Grayson County - that of Mrs. N.O. Kreager and the little child, Melba Sawyer, run down by a hit-and-run driver out near Webb City on the Denison-Bells highway...Both the woman so brutally murdered and dropped in a lone well, and the little girl run down by the killer, will be avenged. Our officers are still on the case and are anxious to clear up the mystery involved as we are eager to sit in the jury box and bring in the verdict all feel should be given. Cold Case Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |