On this date, 24% of city voters decide council races in 1974, and local tragedies are both closed and reopened in 1949. After two weeks of searching, the bodies of three missing fishermen have finally been recovered from Lake Wappapello. In Poplar Bluff, a house fire that killed three children last month is under new scrutiny by police after the victims’ mother received an incriminating letter.
__April 3, 1924__
• A Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce member visits the Poplar Bluff’s chamber today to pitch an idea: a broad coalition of East Ozark communities “dedicated to the development of the region.” The chamber has reached out to multiple counties. Butler County’s response is favorable.
__April 3, 1949__
• After two weeks of search and recovery efforts, the bodies of all three missing fishermen have been found at Lake Wappapello.
On April 1, a body later identified as Earl Hammett was found near Piso Point, where the men’s overturned fishing boat was discovered in the days after their disappearance. The remains of James Squires and Elmer Walcher were located in the same vicinity yesterday. All three wore heavy clothing and rain gear but lacked their boots, which authorities believe were kicked off in the struggle to swim after the boat capsized.
All three men were from the St. Louis area and arrived at Lake Wappapello for a fishing trip March 21. They were last seen casting off into rough waters at Rockwood Point. The Daily American Republic calls the deaths the “worst tragedy at the lake.”
Editor’s note: In prior 1949 editions, Walcher’s name was alternately spelled Walker.
• Police are re-investigating the deaths of three children.
Shirley Ann Burch, Violet Rae Burch and Gary Burch, ages 3-11, perished in a violent house fire on March 15. The property had recently been condemned by the city. Their mother Mary Burch was out of the house when the fire started, and the front door was locked from the outside with a padlock.
A few days after the fire, Mary Burch was declared mentally ill and taken to the State Hospital in Farmington. Police Chief Nathan H. Massie reported today that a postcard for her arrived from “a western state” asking if she had gotten rid of her children and affirming a plan to meet up. It was not clear whether the postcard was addressed to her former home or the State Hospital.
Mary Burch is being questioned in Farmington.
__April 3, 1974__
• City elections conclude with Walter Thies and Randolph Weber on the Poplar Bluff City Council. The two men were only 30 votes apart and unseated incumbent Al Looper by just over 300 votes. Each will serve a three-year term starting April 15.
A total of 2,224 voters cast ballots in the election, representing 24% of the city’s registered voters. This is nearly double the turnout of the city primary election in March.