TWO LIVES LOST
IN BLUE RIVER.
ALFRED G. BUCHANAN AND MISS
NITA EWIN DROWNED.
THEIR CANOE STRUCK A SNAG.
HIS COMPANION.
His Efforts Rendered Futile by the
Struggles of His Companion.
They Go Down to Death
Together.
MISS NITA EWIN AND ALBERT BUCHANAN.
BLUE RIVER CLAIMS TWO MORE VICTIMS.
While boating on the Blue river in Sheffield yesterday afternoon, Alfred G. Buchanan and Miss Nita Ewin were drowned. The canoe in which they were rowing caught on a hidden snag and turned turtle. Both Mr. Buchanan and Miss Ewin lived in Independence. Each was about 20 years of age. Miss Ewin was the daughter of Mrs. Bertie Ewin, a widow, of 412 North Liberty street, while young Buchanan was the son of J. F. Buchanan, an abstracter and loan agent in Independence.
The young couple secured a canoe at the Blue River shortly after noon yesterday, saying that they would return in a short time. They immediately paddled off toward the mouth of the Blue. The accident occurred just above the Belt line bridge.
Witnesses say the boat struck a hidden snag or the limbs of a big tree that overhung the river. Both the occupants of the boat were thrown out by the shock and the boat itself capsized. The two young people struggled in the water for a short time and then went down. Mr. Buchanan was an expert swimmer but, according to those who witnessed the accident from a distance, he was hindered in his efforts to save himself and the young woman by the struggles of the latter.
Two Missouri Pacific firemen stationed with their engines near the scene of the accident saw the young people drown. They left their engines and immediately began to dive or the bodies. Their efforts were fruitless.
The police department was then notified and Lieutenant M. J. Kennedy of the Sheffield station led a rescue party consisting of Marion Bollinger, owner of the boat, and a fisherman. Both bodies were drawn from the water by hooks nearly an hour and a half later.
Mr. Bollinger found the body of the young man first and the fisherman found the body of the young woman. Lieutenant Kennedy had telephoned the father of the young man and he was present when the bodies were removed. Dr. A. C. Mulvaney and Dr. Connelly Anderson, who had been called by Lieutenant Kennedy, tried to resuscitate the two but failed. It was 6 o'clock before the bodies were sent to Independence in an ambulance.
Miss Ewin was the only daughter of Mrs. Bertie Ewin. Seven members of the family have died in the last five years. Alfred is the second son of J. F. Buchanan.
