Francis E. Barnes and the stolen wool shipment

Barnes’s account

Francis E. Barnes, 29, drove a regular New York-to-Baltimore route for the Branch Storage Company of New York. Near Bridgeport late on March 9, he said, a police whistle prompted him to slow. Three men jumped onto the running boards, pressed guns into his ribs, and ordered him aside. The group taped his mouth and face, tied him with wire, placed him in the truck, and drove for hours before leaving him in a sparsely furnished shack near Whiting.

Barnes freed himself around 5 a.m. and walked to Whiting railroad station, where he contacted Toms River police. Tape had to be cut from his hair. He gave Sergeant John Crawford only a general description and said neither he nor the company had previously been attacked on the route.

The truck was found about 6:30 a.m. in dense woods between Lakehurst and Whiting. Some cargo was scattered inside, but the higher-grade woolens and clothing were gone. Police estimated the shipment at $10,000 and inferred that the thieves knew what to select. Hammonton state-police detectives were expected to take the investigation.