Where Mrs. Luetgert Was Seen:
Cleveland and Summit County, Ohio

On December 29, 1897, the Cleveland World reported:

Detective Seligsohn of the Metropolitan Detective Agency [in Cleveland] claims that he knows the whereabouts of Mrs. Adolph Luetgert and can produce her in 24 hours if necessary.

A conspiracy, he claims, exists to ruin Luetgert and to have him hanged, if necessary, to keep him out of the sausage business.

He was written a letter to [Luetgert's defense lawyers], that he will produce the woman for a consideration of $5,000.

According to Detective Seligsohn Mrs. Luetgert is working as a servant in Summit County.

He claims to have received this information from two female detectives that he has working in that part of the State, and who accidentally learned the facts.

Mrs. Luetgert, Seligsohn claims, is being paid a large sum of money to remain away from Chicago, by enemies of Luetgert in the same business that he is in.

As the big German sausage-maker was fast absorbing all the business in his line, and would within a short time have had a monopoly of the trade, others in the same business decided that the only thing to do was to get him out of the way.

According to Seligsohn, he refused to sell, and they made a deal with his wife, having learned that they were not living happily together.

After many conferences between Mrs. Luetgert and the rival sausage-makers, they agreed that she should disappear and a large sum of money was promised her if she should remain away from Chicago indefinitely until Luetgert is prosecuted for doing away with her.

"The men back of the conspiracy have thousands of dollars," said Seligsohn, "and every cent of it will be spent to bring about a conviction, if possible, of the big sausage-maker.

"Not even the proprietor of the boarding house knows that Mrs. Luetgert is domiciled under his roof, and the only way my detectives learned that she was in this town was by the frequent visits that are made by representatives of the sausage-makers to encourage Mrs. Luetgert to remain away from her home, and to pay her the monthly allowance agreed upon."

Read about other places where the missing Mrs. Luetgert was supposedly seen.