More than a century ago, the body of 20 year old Hazel Drew was found floating in Teal's Pond near the bottom of Taborton Mountain in Sand Lake, New York. An autopsy found that she'd died of blunt head trauma to the back of her head prior to ending up in the pond. Her death was labeled a murder.
In the weeks that followed the discovery of her body, many suspects were investigated including among others: her recently widowed, and suicidal, uncle William Taylor who lived nearby; a simple-minded 17 year old farm hand named Frank Smith, who fancied Hazel and his friend Rudolph Gunderman, a charcoal peddler, the two of whom had seen her along Taborton Road, near the pond, shortly before she died; and a pair of unknown men seen by a couple driving by, about the time the murder was supposed to have taken place, at the scene - one waiting in a horse drawn runabout, and the other beating around in the bushes near the pond, as if looking for something!
What made Hazel's murder all the more mysterious, was that only a few days prior to it, she'd suddenly, and unexpectedly left her job as a domestic at the home of Professor E.R. Cary in Troy, and nobody knew what her intentions were. Also her luggage had been left - checked at the train station.
In the end, all the leads the investigators had ran out. Nobody was ever arrested or charged with the murder, and to this day - Hazel Drew's murder remains unsolved!
Hazel Drew was one of several children of John and Julia A. (Taylor) Drew. Her known siblings were: Joseph who was 2 years older than her, Carrie, who was 7 years younger, William who was 10 years younger, Emma who was 11 years younger, Emery who was 12 years younger but predeceased her, and Thomas who was 13 years younger, who also predeceased her.
In the weeks that followed the discovery of her body, many suspects were investigated including among others: her recently widowed, and suicidal, uncle William Taylor who lived nearby; a simple-minded 17 year old farm hand named Frank Smith, who fancied Hazel and his friend Rudolph Gunderman, a charcoal peddler, the two of whom had seen her along Taborton Road, near the pond, shortly before she died; and a pair of unknown men seen by a couple driving by, about the time the murder was supposed to have taken place, at the scene - one waiting in a horse drawn runabout, and the other beating around in the bushes near the pond, as if looking for something!
What made Hazel's murder all the more mysterious, was that only a few days prior to it, she'd suddenly, and unexpectedly left her job as a domestic at the home of Professor E.R. Cary in Troy, and nobody knew what her intentions were. Also her luggage had been left - checked at the train station.
In the end, all the leads the investigators had ran out. Nobody was ever arrested or charged with the murder, and to this day - Hazel Drew's murder remains unsolved!
Hazel Drew was one of several children of John and Julia A. (Taylor) Drew. Her known siblings were: Joseph who was 2 years older than her, Carrie, who was 7 years younger, William who was 10 years younger, Emma who was 11 years younger, Emery who was 12 years younger but predeceased her, and Thomas who was 13 years younger, who also predeceased her.
More than a century ago, the body of 20 year old Hazel Drew was found floating in Teal's Pond near the bottom of Taborton Mountain in Sand Lake, New York. An autopsy found that she'd died of blunt head trauma to the back of her head prior to ending up in the pond. Her death was labeled a murder.
In the weeks that followed the discovery of her body, many suspects were investigated including among others: her recently widowed, and suicidal, uncle William Taylor who lived nearby; a simple-minded 17 year old farm hand named Frank Smith, who fancied Hazel and his friend Rudolph Gunderman, a charcoal peddler, the two of whom had seen her along Taborton Road, near the pond, shortly before she died; and a pair of unknown men seen by a couple driving by, about the time the murder was supposed to have taken place, at the scene - one waiting in a horse drawn runabout, and the other beating around in the bushes near the pond, as if looking for something!
What made Hazel's murder all the more mysterious, was that only a few days prior to it, she'd suddenly, and unexpectedly left her job as a domestic at the home of Professor E.R. Cary in Troy, and nobody knew what her intentions were. Also her luggage had been left - checked at the train station.
In the end, all the leads the investigators had ran out. Nobody was ever arrested or charged with the murder, and to this day - Hazel Drew's murder remains unsolved!
Hazel Drew was one of several children of John and Julia A. (Taylor) Drew. Her known siblings were: Joseph who was 2 years older than her, Carrie, who was 7 years younger, William who was 10 years younger, Emma who was 11 years younger, Emery who was 12 years younger but predeceased her, and Thomas who was 13 years younger, who also predeceased her.
In the weeks that followed the discovery of her body, many suspects were investigated including among others: her recently widowed, and suicidal, uncle William Taylor who lived nearby; a simple-minded 17 year old farm hand named Frank Smith, who fancied Hazel and his friend Rudolph Gunderman, a charcoal peddler, the two of whom had seen her along Taborton Road, near the pond, shortly before she died; and a pair of unknown men seen by a couple driving by, about the time the murder was supposed to have taken place, at the scene - one waiting in a horse drawn runabout, and the other beating around in the bushes near the pond, as if looking for something!
What made Hazel's murder all the more mysterious, was that only a few days prior to it, she'd suddenly, and unexpectedly left her job as a domestic at the home of Professor E.R. Cary in Troy, and nobody knew what her intentions were. Also her luggage had been left - checked at the train station.
In the end, all the leads the investigators had ran out. Nobody was ever arrested or charged with the murder, and to this day - Hazel Drew's murder remains unsolved!
Hazel Drew was one of several children of John and Julia A. (Taylor) Drew. Her known siblings were: Joseph who was 2 years older than her, Carrie, who was 7 years younger, William who was 10 years younger, Emma who was 11 years younger, Emery who was 12 years younger but predeceased her, and Thomas who was 13 years younger, who also predeceased her.
