Dunn, John Perry

There are several photographs with the story

Galena Kansas, Mar 31 Searchers at a late hour tonight had failed to locate the body of John Perry Dunn, 13 years old, son of Perry Dunn, residing south of Galena Kansas, who fell into an old deserted hard rock lead and zinc mine shaft, nearly filled with water, and was drowned about 4 this afternoon. The accident occurred on hard rock lead and zinc mining ground known as "Baker Diggins," a short distance southeast of the Junior high school building.

Working with grappling hooks tied to long pipes, volunteers continued tonight to grope in the deep water-filled shaft for the body. Two or three times early in the search, searchers believed they had located the body, but were unable to bring to the surface whatever object the hooks had encountered, because of loose cribbing which has choked up the shaft in places. The shaft is said to be forty-five feet deep and contains thirty-five feet of water.

John Perry Dunn, a student in the eight grade at the Junior high school, was on his way home from school when the accident occurred. Billy Howerton, a schoolmate of John Perry's who was with him, told Herbert Derfelt, principal of Junior high school, that John Perry started to run around the rim of the shaft, loose rocks rolled under his feet and he slid into the shaft. Howerton told Derfelt he saw John Perry disappear beneath the surface of the water twice, after which Howerton turned away and ran to the school building to report what had happened. John Perry Dunn was a second cousin of Principal Derfelt. Telling one of the teachers to call an ambulance and to summon aid, Derfelt raced to the shaft with Howerton, but the Dunn boy had disappeared.

Volunteers assembled quickly. A ladder was placed across the top of the shaft, and with ropes and grappling hooks the search was begun. The crowd which gathered about the shaft as the news spread, was thrown into a near panic when the ladder broke, throwing Bert Elliott, a searcher, into the shaft. He climbed up and was assisted out by his fellow workers, unharmed. Two large poles were laid across the top of the shaft and the search was resumed. Lights for the men to work by tonight were installed by the Empire District Electric Company.

John Perry's mother died about eight years ago. Besides his father, several brothers and sisters survive.

Galena Kansas. Apr 6--The body of John Perry Dunn, 13 year Galena youth, who was drowned last Thursday afternoon when he fell into an old water-filled mine shaft, was recovered shortly before 4 this afternoon after being in the water six days, almost to the hour.

The body was located by the boy's father, Perry Dunn, who was searching with grappling hooks tied to a thirty- foot fishing pole from a platform 25 feet down in the shaft and just above the water level. The body was lodged in a drift extending from the southwest corner of the shaft, in 30-foot of water. The drift, apparently almost filled up from cave-ins in past years, is nothing more than a mere hole about the size of a barrel. The body had washed down into the hole and had lodged there. The boy's body was in fair state of preservation. There were no marks upon the body except for a small bruise on the forehead.

The father was near collapse as he climbed up the ladder out of the shaft after he had pulled his boy's body out of the water. As the head of the body appeared above the water, Dunn cried out, "My boy." B. A. Roosa of Baxter Springs Kansas, a former neighbor of the Dunn's who was on the platform with Dunn when the body was recovered, assisted Dunn in getting the body out of the water onto the platform, after which Dunn was assisted out of the shaft. Another man went down into the shaft with a rope which he and Roosa tied about the body. Two other men then aided in removing the body.

With the water lowered 25 feet in the shaft shortly after noon today, a platform was placed across the top of the shaft with two ladders extending down into the shaft to the water's edge. A board platform was placed across the lower rungs of the ladder on which the searchers could stand. About 1:30 this afternoon, two men volunteered to go into the shaft and probe with grappling hooks. J. O. Derfelt, an uncle of the boy later conducted a search. THIS IS THE WAY THE ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE PAPER. IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE IN ORDER..There Are Several Other Articles and Photographs That Appear in the Paper about this Drowning.