On the afternoon of December 27, 1928 4-year-old Melvin Horst was playing with four neighborhood friends. They were playing at a vacant lot off of Chestnut St. in Orville, Ohio. The area was near the railroad tracks. At some point, Melvin decided to walk home alone because he only lived a block away. He was carrying his small red truck a gift he got on Christmas.
At 4:30 Zora decided to call him home from dinner and sent her oldest out to search for him at his friend's homes. He was not found. He must have at least made it to his front yard as it was found his truck. They waited till his father Raymond got home and they searched the neighborhood at 6 p.m.
By 7 the police helped and they initiated the search at 8:30. The search was led by Roy who was Raymond's brother and village marshal. It was hoped that Melvin was mistaken as a child of a wealthy family and a ransom would come, but it never did.
Some theorize that his disappearance was to deal with Roy. The prohibition was going on at the time and Roy was zealous at getting bootleggers and enforcing liquor laws making several enemies. He was living with the family at the time and one of the bootleggers decided to get revenge. This included Elias Arnold and his children William, Arthur, and Dorthy McHenry and Dorthy's husband Bascom.
On Jan 2. 1929, the group was arrested for Melvin's disappearance. Elias had been in jail for the most part of 1928 and had a grudge against Roy. Later Charles "Junior" Hannah Elias 8-year-old nephew and a 9-year-old friend of Junior claimed to have seen Melvin go into the Arnold's house. Elias and Arthur were convicted and spent three months in jail when they realized the children had lied.
In 1930 Junior admitted that his father Charles Hannah and a neighbor Earl Conold had told him to lie. He said that they had killed Melvin and told the children to lie about seeing Melvin going to the Arnold's home. The men confessed, but it was coerced by Law Enforcement.
Some believe that it could be possible he was hit by a car and his body hid. That he was kidnapped and murdered. Or someone kidnapped him to raise as their own. None of these theories could be confirmed though.
Melvin was 4 years old at the time. He was 3'1" and 49 lbs. He had blue eyes and brown hair. He has a jagged burn scar on his hip. He was described as having an upturned nose and stocky build. He was wearing a checked sweater, a brown overcoat, and a stocking cap.
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