On September 6, 1923, at 4:15 a.m. a young man who was also stealing a train ride found the body of another young man stealing a train ride. He made the discovery and stated that he remembered seeing him boarding in Lansing at the freight yards, but did not see him after that. He was further back on the train and had seen the body notifying the train staff. The Eaton County Sheriff and coroner were called to view the body of a young man near the train tracks in Bellevue, Michigan.
It was believed that the boy was a hobo who had died when he fell from the top of the train car when the train lurched. The automatic airbrakes set and brought the train to a sudden stop throwing the boy to the ground causing his death instantly. He had a broken neck, crushed ribs, broken hip, and a fatal wound from a gun. It was not a bullet that killed him, a loaded .22 caliber in his pocket had been pushed 6 inches into his chest from the impact.
He was a white male around 17-years-old. He was 5'6" and 125 to 135lbs. He had light brown or sandy hair and blue eyes. He had 2 scars between the fifth and sixth intercostal spaces, and these scars may have been left from drainage tubes that were inserted, and 2 marks on his right arm indicating vaccination. His hands were soft but looked like he worked in a machine shop or garage with grime under his nails.
He was wearing common blue overalls, blue workshirt, jacket, shoes, socks, and brown textured cap. His clothes were dirty. His pockets had no wallet or money and only a few items. He had a Chicago subway token and bullets.
It's possible that he had recently become a hobo as his body did not show the signs of living that type of lifesyle.
SOURCES:
Find a Grave
Find a Grave Newspaper Article
Bellevue Historical Society
Battle Creek Enquirer September 8, 1923
