Hunt Launched for plotters in train wreck
Article taken from The Lima Daily News, 4-22-1932
Portsmouth, April 22
Firmly convinced the Norfolk and Western train wreck here yesterday
was the work of experts at sabotage, officials today conducted a quiet hunt
for the plotters.
A former railroader, it was said may be guilty.
With the death of Engineer John Myers and fireman J. I. Kempe, both of Portsmouth,
serious charges can be lodged against the guilty persons if they are around,
authorities declared.
Although James Leland, 18, of Chillicothe, remains in jail as a suspect following
his arrest near the wreck, he has not supplied any information to assist
in solving the mystery of the identity of the plotters, officials stated.
Denying he had any part in the derailment, Leland said he was riding on the
engine tender when the locomotive left the track.
Sabotage experts caused the derailment, company officials were convinced, because from the rails, indicating intention to cause a crash.