Charles Andrew "Bud" Mitchell 1897-1927

MITCHELL, MITCHEL, THORNTON, RICKARD, MCCOWEN, ELFORD, CHILDERS

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 5/23/2015 at 23:06:02

Charles “Bud” Mitchell Murdered at Arnolds Park
May Have Clue That Will Lead to Murderer in Near Future
If there was ever a murder story sewed up air tight, it’s the Charles (Bud) Mitchell story at Arnolds Park. No one talks and no one seems to want to talk. Every story you read and every story you hear is a little different.

We have spent a little time about the Park but no one loosens up. The story in the Register is somewhere near the bulk of the rumors. We are printing this story below.

There is a rumor about the park that someone in the cottage had highjacked another bunch of leggers and this is the outcome. The “motor” they asked for was the thirty gallons of booze the shooters lost. We also picked up another story some place that there were two bad actors in the Mitchell cottage. These two fellows were from Chicago and had picked off a few on the way out. We had the names of these two fellows but its slipped us for the present.

There was a murder and a bad one. Some one knows more than they are telling and there are a lot of them keeping still. The state men may dig something out of the mess and then there may be a real story. For the present, the Register story seems to fit as well as any.

(From the D.M. Register)
Spirit Lake, July 16 – Charles (Bud) Mitchell, 25 years old, was murdered at Arnolds Park at 3:15 a.m. today.

A few seconds before that time a car coasted up to the door of Mitchell’s cabin. Its motor had been cut off before reaching the house.

Someone in the car yelled for “Pat.” Oscar Childer, Mitchell’s brother-in-law, went to the yard and said that Pat wasn’t there.

At Childer’s reply two men who had been in the car came across the yard. One struck Childer. Mitchell ran to Childer’s aid. Then there were two shots. One penetrated Mitchell’s left eye entering his brain. He died at once.

The pair then entered their car and raced away through the cottage lined streets. A meager description of a car and some odds and ends about the associates and possible enemies of Childer and Mitchell, are the clews the sheriff of Dickinson county has to work on.

There was a woman with the two men, it is believed. This is not definitely ascertained. Who Pat is has not been determined either. Mitchell and Childer were living together in the cabin. Their home is at Armstrong, Iowa, a town in Emmet county.

The shots came from a .32 caliber pistol, it has been determined. That is another clew to the identity of the slayers which may be worked out through the process of criminal investigation.

Gang warfare over liquor is hinted in the case. Officers say that Mitchell had some record in connection with liquor investigations. Two suspects were held in connection with the case but officers say there is little evidence that they had any part in the murder. Their release is possible.

The alarm was quickly spread and great excitement was occasioned in Arnolds Pak, now filled with summer residents. The two shots in the early morning and the roar of the motor in the fugitive auto, awakened many.

Officers quickly assembled deputies and a search of the neighborhood and around northwest Iowa was made for the fugitives. This netted nothing.

Today a number of Mitchell’s and Childer’s associates have been questioned in connection with the case, giving some possible clews. An inquest was held with the expected verdict of murder by unknown hands.

Mitchell and Childer came to the cabin some days ago. Little was known about them at Arnolds Pak and little attention was paid them, as they were among many summer visitors. (Estherville Enterprise, Estherville, IA, July 20, 1927)

“Bud” Mitchell Shot at Arnolds Park
Armstrong Man Is Shot Down In Cold Blood
Look for George O’Day and Two Others – Murder Part Liquor Warfare
Spirit Lake, July 16 – Charles (Bud) Mitchell, 25 years old, was murdered at 3:15 a.m. today.
Same as printed in the Estherville Enterprise with the following added:

Bill Hartman, sought by police in connection with the murder of Charles Mitchell at Arnolds park, yesterday, had been traced to Kingsley, where he is reported to have gotten a bath and a shave last night. His wife, Elsie, and George O’Day are also wanted, it is said. Officers are working on the theory that Hartman believed Mitchell had reported bootlegging activities in which he is alleged to be involved. (Vindicator and Republican, Estherville, IA, July 20, 1927)

Armstrong
Obituary Charles A. [Andrew] Mitchell
Charles A. Mitchell was murdered at Arnolds Park while visiting his sisters Mrs. Oscar Childers and Miss Nellie Mitchell at their cottage.

Charles A. Mitchell was born at Algona, May 8, 1897 and died July 16, 1927 at the age of 30 years, two months and eight days.

He moved to Armstrong from – in 1913 and lived here until he enlisted in the navy in September of 1917, where he served 21 months or until May 1919 when he returned to Armstrong and resided here until his death.

A military funeral was held here on Wednesday under the direction of the Duffy Post. Burial was made in the Armstrong cemetery.

He is survived by his parents Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mitchel of the place and seven sisters and two brothers, William Mitchel of Armstrong, J.W. Mitchel of Kasson, Minn., Mrs. Isabelle Thornton, Winnebago, Minn.; Mrs. J.H. Rickard, Burt, Iowa; Mrs. Wm. McCowen, Hutchinson, Kan.; Mrs. M. Elford, San Francisco, Calif.; Mrs. J.O. Childers, Spirit Lake, and Miss Nellie Mitchell of Armstrong. (Vindicator and Republican, Estherville, IA, July 27, 1917)

Sioux City Man Sought in Mitchell Murder Case
Sioux City, July 25 – Search for Earl Lavery, notorious Sioux City gangster, who is wanted for the murder of Charles A. Mitchell at Arnolds Park, Iowa, on July 16, has shifted to Chicago, where the gunman is believed to be in hiding.

Acting on a tip that Lavey had made his way to Chicago and had sought refuge from the law in haunts of the underworld, State Agent Hi Yackey will send a photograph and description of the hunted man to Illinois officers with the request that he be arrested and held for murder.

Yackey said that he had been informed that Lavery left Arnolds Park for Chicago the same night as the murder was committed.

Mitchell was shot to death on the porch of his cottage by a man believed to have been Lavery, who went to the cottage with the intention of recovering shirts which had been stolen from him. Lavery accused Mitchell of harboring the thief, and an argument followed, which ended in murder.

A second man, believed to have been in the automobile in which the murderer drove to the Mitchell cottage, also is being sought. The man is thought to be “Ducky” Lowery, and has not been seen since the night of the killing.

Lowery, it was learned, had been with Lavery, and the officers stated that they thought he had gone to Mitchell’s cottage with the murderer. – Fort Dodge Messenger (Estherville Enterprise, Estherville, IA, July 27, 1927)

Sioux City Gunman Is Suspected of Mitchell Murder
The latest clues to the gunman who murdered C.A. “Bud” Mitchell at Arnolds Park July 16 are described in an article taken from a recent issue of the Sioux City Journal, as follows:

“Earl Lavery, notorious Sioux City gunman, is wanted by state authorities for the murder of Charles A. Mitchell which took place at Arnolds Park, Iowa a week ago.

“A wide search for the Sioux City man is being conducted, with Sioux City and Arnolds Park at the bases of activity. State Agent Hi Yackey is at Arnolds Park, cooperating with county authorities there, and Fred Spencer, Sioux City chief of detectives, has been requested to arrest Lavery if he appears here.

“Officers believe that Lavery was the man who shot Mitchell, who, it was said, was not the intended target of his gun. Disappearance of Lavery immediately following the shooting has substantiated this theory.

“Lavery was at Arnold’s Park for some time before the killing occurred. With two other men, he operated a poker game there.

“Disappearance of some of Lavery’s shirts from a motorboat was said to have caused the argument that ended in the murder. Lavery went to Mitchell’s cottage early on the morning of Saturday, July 16, with the intention of Saturday, July 16, with the intention of recovering the shirts.

“When he accused Mitchell of harboring the supposed thief the latter, it was reported, struck him on the jaw. It was then that Lavery opened fire. The bullet struck Mitchell in the eye and penetrated his brain. He died a few moments later. The slaying occurred on the porch of Mitchell’s cottage, where Mitchell had been sleeping before Lavery arrived.

“Officials claim to have obtained a complete case of circumstantial evident – enough to assure holding of the gangster in the event of his arrest.

“Lavery is well known to Sioux City police, having been arrested here a number of times. Police records show that he was arrested in March 1921, following a gun battle, on a charge of assault, with intent to murder. He was 20 years old at that time.

“With Roy Shea, another notorious gangster who is at Huron, S.D., awaiting trial for the $20,000 robbery of the Farmers and Merchants bank, Earl Lavery was implicated in the gun battle at the home of Mrs. Dillon here, in which Mrs. Dillons’ brother, Elmer Dingman, was wounded. Lavery was held to the grand jury under $10,000 bond. John Lavery, the wanted man’s brother also was involved in the shooting. John is serving a 40-year term in Fort Madison penitentiary for a bank robbery at Morris, Iowa. Earl Lavery also has been arrested on a number of minor charges.

“Lavery served two years in the federal penitentiary at Ft. Leavenworth for the theft of a truck load of sugar from a box car in the Sioux City railroad yards. He was arrested with Roy Rober, another Sioux Cityan, by Chief Fred Spencer.

“Sioux City police records describe the man as a “tough gangster, stickup and all-around crook.”

“Lavery’s disappearance has caused a temporary standstill in the Arnolds Park case. Several men have been questioned by officers there in connection with the shooting, but all have been released.

A later report taken from the same newspaper on Wednesday of the week as follows:

“The appearance of “Ducky” Lowery, a companion of Earl Lavery, Sioux City gangster wanted for the murder of Charles Mitchell at Arnolds Park, Iowa, 12 days ago, was expected at Spirit Lake, Iowa Tuesday night.

“In a letter to Sioux City relatives, Lowery indicated he would give himself up to state authorities there. The letter implied that Lowery had been hiding in Sioux Falls, but had decided to return and tell what he knew, and state agents hope to ascertain the whereabouts of Lavery.

“Authorities have not been able to determine where Lavery disappeared with Lowery on the night of the murder, although disappearance of the two men occurred at the same time. Officials are inclined to believe, however, that they have remained together since the murder.

“Lowery is believed to have driven the automobile in which Lavery was taken to the Mitchell cottage at the time of the shooting. He was to be questioned upon his arrival. (Vindicator and Republican, Estherville, IA, August 3, 1927)

Hold Man Who May Have Killed Chas. Mitchell
L.D. Laughrey arrested at Denver and held in the city jail there, admitted Wednesday that he is the person sought by Iowa officials in connection with the murder of Charles Mitchell at Arnolds Park, Iowa, July 16, according to press dispatches. State Agent Hi Yackey has departed for Denver to return the fugitive to Iowa, according to James E. Risden, chief of the state bureau of investigation.

Mitchell was shot to death about 3 a.m. when he dashed from his cottage at Arnolds Park to help his brother-in-law, Oscar Childer, as the latter grappled with two men before the house.

Childer had answered a call from his assailants asking whether “Pat” was there. They had driven up in front of the cottage in an auto. After Mitchell fell, the two men rushed to their car and fled, and although a number of possible clews were probed, authorities had taken no one in custody for the murder until Laughrey was arrested at Denver on a fugitive warrant.

Little was known of Mitchell and Childer at Arnolds Park. Their home was supposed to have been at Armstrong, Iowa, in Emmet county. One theory as to the murder was that the slaying was a result of a bootlegger’s war, but this has never been substantiated.

Laughrey had been working in Denver as a bell boy in a hotel and at first gave the name of Ben Allen. Other than to admit that he and another man were present when Mitchell was slain, he refused to talk. – Des Moines Register (Estherville Enterprise, Estherville, IA, December 7, 1927)

Note: as of 1933 Earl Lavery had not been located and apprehended.