Sara Barbara Thorsdale (ca. 1898-1921)

THORSDALE, MAXWELL

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:14

From The Roland Record, Roland, Story County, Iowa, Thursday June 9, 1921.

McCALLSBURG GIRL MURDERED AT DES MOINES

Funeral services for Miss Sara Barbara Thorsdale, the McCallsburg girl who was murdered near Valley Junction late last week, were held at the Lutheran church in Radcliffe, Tuesday afternon at 2:00 o'clock.

Miss Thorsdale, whose dead and mutilated body was found, bound and gagged, in the woods near Valley Junction on Saturday, was a former McCallsburg girl, her mother being a widow and still living at this place.

The unfortunate victim of the fiendish assault was well known and most highly respected in and around McCallsburg, as were the members of the family. She was known as a happy, pretty, carefree girl of 23, with brown hair and gray eays, but 5 feet 4 inches in height and weighing slightly over 100 pounds.

The first news of the tragedy reached McCallsburg on Friday when W. H. Reid received word of the disappearance of Miss Thorsdale. Miss Leah Reid, who is in Des Moines, was a very close friend of Miss Thorsdale and she was one of the first to know of her disappearance.

Saturday word reached here that the body had been found and Mrs. Thordale, with Mr. Reid, drove at once to Des Moines.

Besides the aged mother, there is one brother, Lars Thorsdale, who is working in Chicago, and a sister, Mrs. Robert S. Maxwell of Des Moines. The son arrived in Des Moines Saturday. The husband of Mrs. Thorsdale and father of Miss Sara died at McCallsburg a few years ago.